Across Dimensions
by ilovecartoonsgirl
Summary: One night soon after the turtles took back NYC from the Kraang, April found a small bat that can turn into a lost and very young boy. When she takes him to the turtles' lair though, she sees something that makes her absolutely terrified...This story has elements of both 2003 and 2012 series.
1. Chapter 1

**I don't TMNT. I only own part of the OC...sort of.**

**Chapter 1**

He was beyond terrified. One moment, he was eating an apple and the next he was being chased by those strange creatures in black clothing. They had weapons that he had never seen before, weapons that quickly became very scary when the males fired them at him. But despite all the males in black and their weapons that fired strange and scary arrows, they did not terrify the young animal as much as their leader did.

Their Leader was also dressed in black and had a strange weapon, but what signaled him out from the rest was the dark thing that covered his eyes and his orders to catch the young animal. He did not know why the Leader and his followers wanted him so badly, but he can sense it was for an evil reason. And that was the only reason Koumori needed to fly away as fast as he could.

So he flew. He did not dare to stop to see what was wrong with those animals, he just flew like he had never flown before. However, his best speed was not fast enough. After a few minutes that felt like hours, a huge wiry net was fired from a weapon and it swallowed the terrified Koumori whole. The net brought the little bat all the way down to the roof of a building. Koumori struggled with all of his strength but the net did not let go of him.

"Now, now, calm down. We can't have you use up all of your strength before my first test even starts," said the Leader. Koumori shuddered as the Leader's menacing and snake-like voice sent shivers up his spine. Then the Leader bent down and picked up the net with little Koumori inside.

"While I am disappointed that someone more…suitable did not show up, I can still get answers from you. And my other experiment is going even better than I expected. So all in all, not a bad night at all," the Leader continued with an evil smile.

Koumori did not understand anything that the Leader, but he did not care. He just wanted to escape and go back to his parents. So when Koumori saw that the Leader's wrist was within reach, Koumori did not hesitate to sink his pointy fangs into the evil male's white flesh.

"Ow!" exclaimed the Leader as he dropped the net. As the net fell back down to the roof, the net opened just enough for Koumori to fly through and escape to the night sky. It was only when Koumori was high up into the sky did he lick the Leader's blood off his fangs.

"Get him!" Koumori heard the Leader order his male followers. Though Koumori was partly tempted to look back, he overcame it and kept on flying. He kept on flying even though he could not hear the Leader and his followers anymore. He just wanted to get as far as away from the evil creatures as he can.

But then, finally, he became so weary that he could fly anymore. So he looked for a good hiding spot and within a few seconds, he found it. It was a big dark green container that looked like it had plenty of room for someone like him. So Koumori flew into the dark green container, only it stank worse than a Rhino's backside. But for once in his life, Koumori did not care about the smell as he landed on the stinky heap of strange objects and cried.

TMNT

April O'Neil hummed a little melody as she walked through the streets. She had just finished her shift at the soup kitchen with her Dad and now she was going to visit the turtles while her Dad went back had been a few weeks since her mutant friends had rid the city of the Kraang and brought the human population back from Dimension, including her Dad.

April smiled when she remembered her reunion with her Dad. He was still a bit bewildered from being a Kraanified mutant person only moments before, but that didn't stop him from hugging her back tightly. _And it is all because of Donnie, Leo, Raph, Mikey, and their mutant friends. And they didn't ask for anything in return either. They really are the best friends that anyone can ask for. It's the least I can do is to be the best kind of friend to them that I can be._

Then all of a sudden, there was a whimper. April immediately stopped humming and walking and looked around. _That…that sounded like it came from an injured animal. _April stayed still for a moment, her ears on the high alert for another soft whimper. But the only sounds she heard were the engines of nearby cars and the rustle of leaves brushing against the sidewalk.

Just when April decided that she was just hearing things, she heard the soft whimper again. But this time, it turned into a small sob. April turned her head towards the sound and saw a short but slightly dark alley. Even though she did not see the animal, April walked down into the alley, her eyes and ears both searching for any sign of the hurt animal.

"Mama…Papa…where are you?" sobbed a nearby voice. April gasped. _It's not an animal, it's a little boy! _April once again turned her head in the direction the voice came from and saw a dark green dumpster. Without even wondering why the boy would be in a dumpster, April rush to the dumpster and peeked her head inside.

April opened her mouth to say some comforting words, but what she saw quickly stopped the words from coming out. Instead of a little boy, she saw a little and adorable black bat. He had little white fangs and big red eyes, which were now filled with clear tears.

April was so stunned that the only thing she could do was stare at the little young animal. Then the bat turned his head and saw April. The bat screeched with fright and backed up until his back was pressed against the dumpster wall.

"Get away from me! I'll bite you if you don't!" threatened the little bat, his fangs bared. He then tried to fly but his wings were so shaky that he fell after gaining an inch or so in the air. That didn't deter the little bat however, as he immediately try to fly again. Seeing him struggling to fly for the second time finally brought April out of her stunned stupor.

"Whoa little fellow! I'm not going to hurt you!" exclaimed April gently, her hands in the stop position. To her surprise, the little bat did stop, though he still looked suspicious of the red-headed teenager. April felt her heart give a pang of pity. _I thought with the Kraang gone, there was a chance that there will be no more mutations of innocent civilians. _

_But I guess I was stupid to hope that. As long as the Shredder has mutagen, there will always be mutations. Though, why would Shredder mutate a little boy? Was it unintentional? Or even perhaps did it happen before the Kraang were forced out of our world?_ April then shook her head to get those questions out. _How and when this little boy got mutated doesn't matter right now. I have to convince the boy that I mean no harm before I can take him to Donnie so he can be brought back to normal._

"It's alright…I can help you," April said in her best soothing voice as she lowered her hands in a defenseless position. While the little bat looked less suspicious, he still glared at April and had his fangs somewhat bared. April gulped and tried again once more to convince the little bat that she was his friend.

"I promise that I won't hurt you. Ever." April gave an inward sigh of relief when she saw that the young bat dropped his guard altogether and started to cry as he jumped towards her. April, on instinct, caught the young animal and held him close her chest. When she felt the bat's body tremble in her arms, April felt anger blossom within her. _He's too young to have anything like this happen to him! When I see the Shredder again, I'm going to…_

April shook her head again, but this time to push her anger away. She knew that what the young boy-turned-bat needed most right now was her compassion, not her anger. April then took a deep breath and rubbed the bat's back.

"It's alright, I'm right here, and soon this…whoa!" exclaimed April. Her eyes grew wide with shock as the bat in her arms suddenly started to grow. Her mouth dropped when the bat's wings gradually turned into arms and his little adorable bat feet turned into little human feet. His pointy ears shrunk down and so did his pointy fangs. Then, the bat stopped finally stopped changing. Except that he was clearly now a little human boy with dark hair, not a little black male bat.

"Oh my gosh...you're…you're like Karai…you're not a normal mutation…" whispered April softly. _And Donnie's retro-mutagen didn't bring her back to normal! It might not bring this boy back either! But...unlike Karai, he does seem to have full control of his mind…there is hope for him._

"What's your name?" asked April as the boy, who looked to be around four years old, started to cry less and less.

"Koumori," the boy said, sniffling a bit.

"Kou-mo-ri," April repeated. "That's a really nice name." That made Koumori look up and gaze up at April with a small smile.

"Really?" he asked in wonder. April smiled and nodded.

"Yep," she answered. Her answer resulted in Koumori giving her an even bigger smile and snuggling against her chest. Even though she still felt angry at Shredder and sorry for Koumori's mutation, April felt glad that Koumori was snuggling against her like she was his big sister or mother. _Mother…she is probably worried sick about him…I got to get him to the turtles pronto. The sooner they can help him, the sooner he can get back to his Mother._

"C'mon, let's go to my friends," April said as she headed out of the alley, still carrying the young boy in her arms.

"Your friends?" asked Koumori.

"Yes, they are going to help you," April informed him.

"They are going to find Mama and Papa?" asked Koumori.

"Yes," answered April, wondering how she should tell Koumori about the turtles fixing his mutation problem. But before she could think of a way to break it to him, she heard a little snore. She looked down and saw that Koumori was sleeping soundly, looking like he didn't have a care in the world.

April just smiled and adjusted Koumori's body so that she could hold him better. _Don't worry kid. Donnie's retro-mutagen will work before any problems can occur and he and his brothers will bring you back to your parents. And I will help them too, so there really won't be nothing to fear._

After around ten more minutes or so, April finally reached the turtles' lair. As she walked inside the lair, she wondered how she was going to tell the turtles and Master Splinter that Koumori needed their help before they reacted to the fact that she had brought a human to the lair yet again. _But this time I know that he isn't a Kraang spy! He is just a little boy…who got mutated into a bat…and who can also turn back…WHAT THE?!_

April stumbled into a sudden stop when she saw the condition of the turtles and their Sensei. Master Splinter, tears flowing down his face, had his arms around Raph, who was sobbing heavily into his Father's kimono. Leo was in the fetal position, his head to his knees and his body shaking terribly. Donnie and Mikey were nowhere to be seen.

"What happened?!" April exclaimed as she rushed towards them, her heart pounding with terror and anticipation. _Raph doesn't cry! And…I have never seen Sensei and Leo cry like that! And where are Donnie and Mikey?! _

"April…" Sensei said, his somber eyes looking straight at April and hurting her very soul.

"What is going on?! Where are Donnie and Mikey?! What happened to them?! They're not…they're not…" April stuttered, desperately hoping with all her heart that one of her greatest fears didn't come true. But as Leo got up and walk very broken-heartedly towards her, she felt her hope dying. And it died completely when Leo stopped when he was few feet in front of her, and told April the horrible story of what had happened only an hour or so ago.

**I don't like this...at all. What about you? What do you think? Mechagigan2004 requested that I write a story about April becoming a motherly/sisterly figure to a vampire/young boy who can turn into a bat. But as you can see, this story is going to be WAY more complex than that. **

**Please review and I will try to update as soon as I can!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Guest: Who says I did that ;) Though we won't know for sure till the end of this chapter...**

**Thanks for all the reviews so far! **

_**An hour or so earlier:**_

"Looks like it's going to be another boring night," complained Donnie's red-masked brother as they all landed on a rooftop. They had been patrolling the city for about an hour and a half now, and so far Donnie and his brothers had not seen any trouble, not even a guy stealing a lollipop from a baby. While Donnie was a tiny bit bored, he really didn't mind not having any action tonight. _We did just retake the city __and__ help Casey stop the Shredder at that plant. We could use a breather. _

"Ah Raph! Don't say that unless you knock on wood!" exclaimed Mikey. "Quick, help me find some wood before it's too late…"

"But I really do want to kick some Shredder minion butt," replied Raph as Mikey frantically searched the rooftop for a piece of wood.

"And besides Mikey, jinxes and knocking on wood are just superstition. If we do end up having a not-so-boring night, it would just be a coincidence," Donnie added as he quickly laid a hand on the racing Mikey's shoulder. Luckily, this seemed to calm Mikey because he abruptly stopped running around like a lunatic.

"Even so, that kind of coincidence seems to happen a lot," comment Leo as he looked down at the lighted streets before he walked left to look down at an alley.

"Why do you think I wanted to find a piece of wood?!" Mikey exclaimed.

"Why are you so frantic about this Mikey?" Donnie asked, genuinely confused by his dear little brother's actions. "You don't like being bored."

"True, but it's not like I want to fight in some giant battle tonight either. I want to get back home in time to catch Crognard the Barbarian. I need to see how Crognard gets out of that giant pit full of snakes, spiders, and the two-headed mice!" Mikey explained. Donnie let out a long inward sigh. _I should have known…_

"If that's the case, then let's defeat these Purple Dragons quickly," Leo said as he unexpectedly drew out his twin katana.

"What Purple Dragons?" Donnie asked, surprised by Leo's sudden statement. Leo, with his katana, pointed downwards at the alley. Donnie and his two brothers quietly rushed towards him and looked down and sure enough, there were Purple Dragons getting out of a black van.

"Oh," Donnie said before he took out his bo-staff.

"I hope that Hun guy is with them," said Raph as he twirled both of his sai. "It would be fun to go toe to toe with him." As soon as he said that, Hun got out of the driver's seat and was now ordering his minions around. Donnie strained his ears but he still couldn't hear what Hun was say.

"What are they doing?" Donnie asked out loud.

"I don't know, but it definitely can't be good. Turtles go!" ordered Leo.

"Seriously bro?" asked Raph, giving Leo his famous you-are-such-a-dork expression.

"What was the matter with that?!" exclaimed Leo, as he stopped on the ledge.

"Um no offense dude, but that totally ripped off Teen Titans," explained Mikey.

"Teen Titans was a good show!" exclaimed Leo, his voice full with confusion and frustration. Donnie glanced down at the scene below and saw that the Purple Dragons were trying to unlock a side door.

"Um guys, this isn't the time to argue. They're trying to break in…some building!" Donnie exclaimed. Luckily, this stopped his brothers arguing and giving each a nod, they stealthily slinked to the ground. They didn't immediately attack the Purple Dragons, preferring to stay within the shadows until Leo knew the time was right.

"By the time you unlock that door, the cops will arrive and we won't even get a chance to swipe one diamond," Hun stated with a bit of deadly threat in his voice as his minion Sid continued to unlock the door. _Oh, that's what they're after…_

"I'm sorry Master," Sid apologized, sweat pouring down his face.

"Well, I'm afraid sorry doesn't cut it," Leo suddenly said. When he jumped out of the shadows, Donnie and his brothers were only a millisecond behind him. Immediately after that, Donnie and his brothers were fighting the Purple Dragons, each one with their own opponent. It only took Donnie approximately fifteen seconds full of thwacks from his bo-staff to defeat his, which happened to be Tsoi.

"I wonder if that's a record," Donnie said to himself as he took a second to gaze at the unconscious Tsoi, who was lying on the ground in a rather hilarious position. Donnie look up and saw that Mikey and Leo had also just defeated Sid and Fong and they were now helping Raph defeat Hun.

"Well, Raph, is it fun to go toe to toe with him?" asked Donnie as he joined his brothers in the fight.

"It was though…maybe I'm a little glad that you guys joined in," Raph admitted as he made a swipe towards Hun, only to have the Asian man smoothly take the sai away from Raph as he kicked him in the plastron. This resulted in Raph flying backwards hard into the front of the van. _Raph! _

"Raph!" cried Mikey as he raced towards Raph, who was groaning and rubbing his head to Donnie's relief. _He's going to be sore, but at least he didn't lose consciousness. _

"Hasn't your master taught you to never turn your back away from the enemy?" Donnie heard Hun ask behind him. Donnie turned just in time to block a punch from Hun with his bo-staff, who was using Raph's sai to block Leo's katana. In a few but rapid movements, Hun made Leo's katana fly out of his hand as he swept Donnie off of his feet with a kick. Hun then kicked Leo several feet into the alley right before he raised Raph's sai above Donnie.

"Booyakasha!" exclaimed Mikey as he swung his kusarigama at Hun. Hun just looked up and calmly ducked and threw the sai at Mikey. Mikey tried to dodge but even Donnie's fastest brother wasn't fast enough.

"AAH!" Mikey screamed as Raph's sai sliced up his thigh before it fell to the ground with a clatter. As Mikey fell to the ground clutching his thigh painfully, Donnie's brown eyes grew wide with fear as his heart skipped a beat. Within a millisecond, his scientific mind quickly ran through the possibilities of Mikey's injury. _It could be just a shallow wound, but if it just happened to slice his artery…_

"Mikey!" Donnie and Leo both cried out in great fright. Out of instinct, Donnie kicked Hun with both legs, sending him towards Leo, who had regained his katana and was looking angry. Donnie felt it too as he picked himself up, but right now Mikey needed him to take of his wound, not avenge him.

"How dare you use my weapon to hurt my baby brother!" a furious Raph yelled as he rapidly rush past Donnie and right at Hun. Donnie didn't look back to see whether Raph successfully attacked Hun or not. He just kept his eyes on his injured baby brother as he rushed towards him, while putting his bo-staff back in its sheath.

"It's going to be okay Mikey, I'm here," Donnie said in his most comforting and calm voice when he finally knelt beside his only younger brother.

"Man, this really hurts Donnie," Mikey said, his pale face wincing with pain as he took his hands off his wound.

"I know, just hang on okay?" Donnie asked as he started to inspect the leg wound.

"Of course Doc," replied Mikey with a pained yet cheerful smile. Donnie couldn't help but smile a bit in relief. _If Mikey can smile and play around a bit, he can't be that bad off. _Then to Donnie's even greater relief, he discovered the wound was shallow and the best part of all, Raph's sai did not cut open one of Mikey's arteries.

"How is he Donnie?" Donnie heard Leo anxiously nearby.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry Mikey," Raph apologized, his voice full with heavy guilt. Donnie looked up and saw that his two elder brothers were beside them, Hun defeated and lying on the ground several feet away. Before Donnie could answer, he heard the sound of police cars coming up fast with their sirens blaring.

"Quick, to the roof," Leo ordered. Without hesitation or argument, Raph gently but swiftly picked up Mikey in the bride position. Then Donnie and his brothers quickly climbed up the fire escape and jumped across many roofs so that they could be far away from the police and the Purple Dragons. They didn't stop till Leo stopped and put up his hand.

"This is far enough," he stated, anxiety still in his face.

"It's okay Raph, really," Mikey said as his brother laid him back on the ground. "You don't have to keep on saying you're sorry."

"Is he going to be okay Donnie?" asked Raph as Donnie knelt beside Mikey and took out some bandages out of one of the pouches on his belt.

"Yes Raph. While it is long, Mikey's cut is shallow and most importantly, the sai didn't cut his artery," Donnie informed him as he wrapped up Mikey's leg. "I will have to clean it and stitch it up when we get home, but Mikey is definitely in no immediate danger."

"Oh thank goodness," said Leo with a deep sigh of relief.

"See Raph? I'm going to be okay, so stop beating yourself up alright?" Mikey asked. Raph didn't answer right away, preferring to just look down at the gray rooftop. Then he let out a shaky laugh.

"Fine, but only if you promise not to do that to me, or any of us, ever again," Raph said as he gave Mikey a noogie head rub.

"Alright, alright I promise," Mikey giggled as he tried to struggle to get out of Raph's.

"Now now, how can I do a good job taking care of your wound if you are moving?" Donnie condemned Mikey with a teasing smile as he momentarily stopped wrapping Mikey's wound.

"Sorry," Mikey and Raph both chimed apologetically. Leo chuckled as Donnie made the final wraps around Mikey's leg. Though he didn't chuckle out loud, Donnie couldn't help but smile as he secured the wrap. _This easily could have been so much worse…but it wasn't and thank the stars a million times for that. I don't know what I would have done if Mikey had…_

"Is he good to go?" Leo asked Donnie, stopping him from thinking that dark thought. Donnie sighed as he stood up.

"Yep," Donnie said with an adoring smile towards his baby brother. "Let's go home."

"Alright, just in time to watch Crognard the Barbarian!" Mikey cheered very happily.

"Yeah, and you can eat all the buttery popcorn you want," said Raph as he helped Mikey to stand up.

"Sweet…" Mikey started to exclaim when the most unexpected thing happened.

"WHIIIIZZZ!" Before anyone could react, a thick and light green laser raced from the rooftop across from them and kept on racing till it collided with its target. Right in the center of Mikey's shell.

Donnie's blood froze to the coldest ice as time seemed to slow down and the world stopped turning. His mind stopped working and his heart skipped several beats. Mikey's eyes grew wide in shock as his body slowly fell forward, and he made no movement to stop himself.

"MIIIIIIIKEEEYYYYY!" screamed both Leo and Raph as Donnie, acting out of pure instinct, caught his little brother. His little brother that had just promised that he will never do anything like this to his brothers ever again.

"I'LL MAKE YOU PAY! I SWEAR I WILL MAKE YOU PAY!" Donnie heard Raph scream. Donnie looked up and saw a tan-skinned man with dark brown hair in a long black coat, black pants, and a white shirt and tie. He even had slightly dark sunglasses, even though it was nearing the middle of the night. He had a malicious evil smile as he carried a big black gun with red lines streaking along its sides.

"Don…Donnie?" whispered a small but familiar voice. Donnie gasped as he looked back down and saw that Mikey had his light blue eyes open. But that was not the only thing that caught Donnie's attention. Mikey's body was also for some reason was glowing a bright light green, and it made Donnie choke on the heart in his throat in terror.

"I…I feel weird," Mikey said. Then before Donnie could say anything, Mikey's body suddenly burst into a million little green floating lights.

"Ah….ah…" Donnie choked out, his arms still reaching out, even though the small turtle that was once in them had disappeared, the little green lights taking his place. And one by one, they were starting to disappear too. And that was when Donnie's mind went into anxious and frantic overload.

_No…no no no NO! _Donnie then tried in a desperate attempt to gather the lights together, like that will bring his brother back. _Come back…come back, come back, COME BACK! _But despite Donnie's desperate attempt, all of them had disappeared within a few seconds.

"NOOOOOOOO!" Donnie heard Leo yell, pure agony in his voice.

"Mikey…MIIIIIIIIIKEEEEEEYYYYY! NOOOOOOOOOO!" Donnie heard Raph yell. His arms shaking, as well as the rest of his body, Donnie fell to his knees. Choked and unrecognizable sobs came out of his throat as he looked down at his arms, like if he kept on staring at them, his energetic and optimistic baby brother would all of a sudden come back to him. But Mikey didn't. And Donnie finally had to admit to himself that he never will.

Donnie then screamed his heart out, tears rapidly falling down his face. The scream was loud and deep. There were no recognizable words or even sounds in his scream. And that was not the only scream either. Donnie kept on screaming at the black sky, the only breaks he took was the small breaths between each one. Each scream full of pure agony, grief, and pain.

As Donnie kept on screaming, he didn't see his brother's murderer look up before running away. He didn't notice that Raph tried to chase after him, only to have Leo stop him. He didn't notice Raph, tears flowing down his face, struggled against Leo's grip. Donnie didn't notice Leo telling that they couldn't go, and motion his head towards him. Donnie was his own little world, a world that was filled with misery and great sadness.

Donnie didn't know how long he screamed, but when he finally did, he noticed that Leo was hugging him very tightly. Raph was sitting nearby, sobbing quietly. When Donnie stopped screaming, Raph looked up at him and gulped a sob down as he stood up.

"C'mon bro, we…got…gotta tell Master Splinter," Raph said, his voice quivering as he pulled Donnie up to his feet gently. Donnie didn't protest because somewhere in his barely working mind, he knew that they were right. Donnie thus let Leo and Raph guide him gently and safely home, his mind blank and his heart heavy with grief. It wasn't till they reached the lair, and he saw Master Splinter running up anxiously towards them did his mind began to work a little more.

And his mind reminded him once again of what had happened, as well as told him the sad but inevitable consequences of telling Master Splinter about it. And Donnie knew he couldn't take seeing Master Splinter break from the news. So without a word, Donnie ran away from his remaining brothers and Father and didn't stop running till he reached his room. Once he closed the door, he leapt onto his bed and sobbed once more.

TMNT

Before he knew it, midnight had turned into noon. And he was fighting to keep his head above the swirling water, as the current forcibly pushed him towards the rapids. He didn't know what was going on, or why he was in a river that had an apple grove on one side, and a lush green field on the other. But there was one thing he did know. He was definitely going to survive, leg or no leg. He will survive because he was Hamato Michelangelo, and nothing will stop him from getting back to his family.

**Whew...just...whew. So...how do you guys feel about this chapter? Please review and I will update soon. Till then, have a good night/day!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks for all the reviews!**

**I don't own TMNT. Only Koumori, and that is only partly.**

Twice. He had to do it two times. He had to tell the story how his baby brother died twice, and each time made his heart twist and break with unbelievable pain. Leo was afraid that he was going to have to be the one to tell Casey too, but Raph volunteered after April broke down and cried when she learned what had happened. Leo was thankful for that. He didn't think his heart could take telling a loved one that Mikey was gone forever for a third time.

_Gone forever…_Leo bit my lip but that did not stop even more tears from falling out his eyes. Kneeling down, he pulled the sobbing April close to his chest and hugged her tight as he continued to cry as well. _Mikey…how…how could this have happened…you were so alive one second and then…gone the next. I'm so sorry…if I had only been more aware of my surroundings, if only I was a better leader…_

"It's…It's done." Leo looked up and saw Raph walking towards them, his shell phone in his hand.

"How did he take it?" Sensei asked, his voice and face very somber.

"He didn't say anything at first, but then he just said he was coming over and hung up," Raph mumbled as he sat back down on the couch. "He tried to hide it but…I could hear his voice crack." _Casey…_

"Things were supposed to get better after the Kraang left! Not worse!" exclaimed April angrily and tearfully. That emotional outburst pained Leo like April had shot an arrow right through his broken heart. _I thought that too…I knew that we still had to save Karai somehow and defeat the Shredder, but the Kraang were defeated. That was one less enemy that we had to worry about. But I was wrong. We have yet another enemy, and because I was foolish to let my guard down, Mikey…died._

"I know…I know," Leo said as comfortingly as he gulped down a sob that threatened to break out of his throat. Leo didn't know how long he and his family stayed like that, their hearts breaking, their mouths letting out their soul-crushing sobs, and their bodies hardly moving. Then an unfamiliar voice broke the heavy and somber atmosphere.

"Ugh…I can't breathe." Leo opened his eyes, feeling very surprised and bewildered at the sound of the voice. But what was even more bewildering to Leo was the direction the voice came from. _It…sounded like it came from under me…_

It was only then did Leo felt something strange against his plastron, something that definitely didn't feel like April's body. Loosening his hug with April a bit, Leo slowly looked down. It was then did he noticed for the first time that there was a little Asian boy in April's arms, and he was looking up at Leo with curious dark brown eyes.

"Hello Mr. Turtle," the boy said with a wide and cheerful smile.

"AH!" yelled Leo as he fell backwards onto his back, his startled eyes fixed on the little boy.

"Leo, what's the matter?!" Raph cried out as he stood up and pulled out his sai. Leo was so stunned that he couldn't say anything, so he just pointed at the boy. Raph's eyes followed Leo's finger and his eyes widened when he saw the smiling kid in the startled April's arms.

"What the heck?! How did he get there?!" exclaimed Raph, sounding very shocked.

"What do you mean how he got here?! He's been here the whole time! How could you not…" April then became very quiet, like the words she was about to say were forbidden in the lair. However, Leo didn't have to think hard to know what April was about to ask, as well as the answer to her question. _I guess we were still so shocked and caught up in our own pain that we just didn't notice that April brought a human boy into our lair._

"So April, can you please tell us why you brought him here?" asked Master Splinter in a way that suggested to Leo that he noticed the boy the whole time, but waited to only now to ask why.

"His name is Koumori and he's a mutant. I thought that Donnie could change him back to normal," April informed them, her lips pursed in an angry frown. If Leo had eyebrows, he would have cocked them up high.

"Mutant? But he looks normal to me," stated Leo as he looked closely at the little boy. The little boy then cocked his head, looking quite confused.

"What's a mutant?" he asked, his young voice full of curiosity. Leo winced at the question, not sure how to explain about mutagen and mutants to someone who looked younger than five years old. _How can I explain it so that he can understand it?_

"Uh…it's…when your body changes into something than what it normally is," Leo answered, hoping that his explanation would be good enough for him. He immediately relief when the boy's face lit up with understanding.

"Oooh…" he answered. "Then I am a mutant!" Then before Leo could react to the boy's unexpected happy tone, Koumori in a quick instant changed from a young Asian boy to a little black bat. Leo's mouth dropped open as Koumori flew out of April's arms and flew around the lair.

"Yep, he's a mutant alright," Raph stated. _Yeah…like Karai. But unlike her, his mind doesn't look like it's slipping away. We can probably change him back._

"Do you know where his parents are?" asked Master Splinter, his concerned face turned towards April.

"No, I was hoping you guys could help with that too," April admitted. Then Koumori landed on the ground in front of Master Splinter, where he instantly changed back to a boy.

"Do you know my Papa and Mama? They are Lord Kyou and Lady Tomoko of my clan," said Koumori. _Lord Kyou? Lady Tomoko? He's the son of a Lord and a Lady?! Of a clan like ours?! What is he doing in America?!_

"And which clan would that be little one?" asked Master Splinter kindly with a sad smile.

"The Kurosawa clan of course," Koumori replied proudly before the curious expression returned to his face. "What clan are you from? Are you the Lord of it?" Master Splinter chuckled.

"I wouldn't call myself the Lord of the Hamato clan, but I am the Head of my sma…small family," replied Master Splinter, his eyes full of sadness. _Sensei…I can't even comprehend what you must be feeling right now…_

"So do you know my Mama and Papa?" asked Koumori, his voice hopeful but somber. Even though Leo's heart was beginning to be numb with pain and grief, he felt some sympathy for the young boy. _He's lost…he just wants to be with his Mother and Father again…just like I want to be Mikey to be with us again. But…that will never happen. _

"I'm afraid not, but don't worry Koumori. We will find them, I promise," said Master Splinter as he bent down till he was eye-level with Koumori. Leo's Father's eyes must have been so full of sincerity because Koumori immediately jumped into Master Splinter's arms and hugged him tight. Master Splinter was startled at first but then hugged the young boy tightly back.

"So…shall I get Donnie? Or should we just spray the stuff on the kid?" Raph asked, his voice cool and his fist clenched. Leo was taken aback by his younger brother's sudden behavior. _What is the matter with him? Why is Raph angry that Master Splinter is hugging Koumori? The poor boy needs it…and heck, Sensei needs it too…_

"While we can do it ourselves, it would be a good idea for Donatello to do it," answered Master Splinter like he didn't hear the edge of anger behind Raph's words. Leo immediately read the subtext behind his Sensei's words. _He wanted to give Donnie his space, but now he wants to check up on him, to make he is doing alright…on the circumstances._

"Donnie!" April suddenly exclaimed. Leo turned his head and saw his now-youngest brother standing in the doorway that led to their bedrooms. Leo felt some relief when he saw that the blank look that occupied Donnie's red-brown eyes when he and Raph led him home was totally gone. But that relief disappeared when he saw April hug Donnie, and Donnie just absent-mindedly hugged her back, despite his huge crush on her. _I guess it makes sense though…Donnie was the closest to Mikey. He's going to take it harder than the rest of us._

"Donnie…" Raph said softly, shaken by Donnie's emotionless hug.

"Donatello, how long have you been standing there?" asked Sensei. To Leo's surprise, instead of answering, Donnie just shrugged and gently pried himself out of April's hold. As Donnie silently walked to his lab, fear blossomed inside Leo's body. _He didn't answer…Donnie always answers questions, especially Sensei's…_

"So…does that mean a while?" asked Raph, sounding very concerned. Before anyone could answer, Donnie came back from his lab, with a spray bottle full of the retro-mutagen.

"What is that?" asked Koumori as he left Master Splinter behind and ran up to Donnie. Again, Leo expected Donnie to answer and even explain what the retro-mutagen was going to do, but Donnie didn't do that. Instead, Donnie just knelt down and sprayed Koumori without warning.

"Ah!" exclaimed Koumori as he closed his eyes, started to spit, and wiped off the now-invisible retro-mutagen off his face.

"Koumori!" exclaimed April as she raced towards Koumori, worry etched on her face.

"Donnie!" Leo exclaimed, alarmed.

"Why didn't you warn him?!" exclaimed Raph, surprise, alarm, and a small bit of anger in his voice all at once. Then April reached Koumori and held him tight as he continued to sputter and wipe his face.

"What is the…" April started to say before she suddenly stopped. Then she shook her head and gazed at Donnie, who looked apologetic. _Well, at least that is something but…why isn't he saying sorry? _

"Why didn't you say anything before spraying him?" asked April as she tried to comfort Koumori by rubbing his back. But before Donnie had the chance to respond, Koumori suddenly changed into a bat again and flew out of April's arms.

"Why did you do that?!" exclaimed Koumori angrily as he faced Donnie. For a moment, no one spoke as everyone looked at Koumori's mutant form with a mix of surprise and astonishment.

"Well…that definitely didn't work," Raphael stated.

TMNT

Mikey didn't know how long he laid shivering on the riverbank, exhausted beyond imagining and his leg throbbing. He just knew that when he finally was able to climb out of the river, he just let himself collapse, without even a single glance at his new surroundings.

After a while, Mikey had the dim thought that he should get up and get back to his brothers, Sensei, and friends, but he pushed it aside. _I really do want to get back to them but…the mud here is so cool…and my leg hurts so bad. Actually, my whole body aches…and it's kind of hard to breathe, maybe I should just sleep here…it won't do my family any good if I push my body too hard. Yeah, that's what Donnie would say if he was me…_

So Mikey laid there, his weak body shivering even though he wasn't wet anymore. Then, suddenly without warning, unfamiliar but soft and gentle hands turned his body over so that his light green face wouldn't be in the cool mud anymore. However, Mikey didn't open his eyes so he could know who those hands belong to. It was only when one of these hands placed itself on Mikey's hot forehead, did Mikey's curiosity became stronger than Mikey's need to sleep so he opened his eyes.

His sight was blurry at first, but when Mikey blinked them a few times, his sight cleared to reveal a strange but amazing scene. The hands belonged to a big, humanlike rabbit in a blue shirt with a white sash and black pants that looked like they came from Medieval Japan. _He's…he's a mutant. _

Usually Mikey would have been slightly wary of a strange mutant being so close to him, he couldn't help but feel safe when that he saw that the rabbit's expression changed from concerned to relief at the sight of Mikey's opened eyes. And it didn't help that the rabbit had a long samurai sword and a short one tied to his sash. _He's a samurai…awesome…and…he looks nice…_

"Oh good, you're awake," said the rabbit with a relieved sigh. "Can you tell me what happened to you? What clan you are from? Who you are?" Even though Mikey tried to listen, the rabbit's words became blurred and unrecognizable to Mikey's ears. All except for the last question.

"Ho…Hamato Michelangelo…but you can call me Mikey...who…who are you?" Mikey answered and asked. Then the need to sleep hit him like a bus and against his will, Mikey's eyelids began to close. But before they closed, Mikey saw the rabbit smile and heard his answer.

"My name is Usagi."

**Donnie...why aren't you talking? And it looks like Mikey is in good hands :) And for those who have seen the TMNT 2003 version (or the 1980's version), you know how good those hands are. I will update a few days from now (I am writing a book too) but till then, please review so I can know what I'm doing right/wrong! See ya and have a good night/day!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks for all the reviews so far!**

**I don't own TMNT. And I only Koumori partly.**

Raph had never felt so full of anger and rage in all of his life. And never before had he kept it all in for so long. Raph sighed as he gazed up at his bedroom ceiling. He had gone to bed a few hours ago, but he had yet to fall asleep despite his attempts to try. _But I guess my heart just hurts too much. Mikey…why did that…that __monster__ decide to kill you, and only you?_

Finally, Raph decided that it was pointless to stay in bed if he wasn't going to fall asleep. With another sigh, Raph got out of bedand headed towards the dojo, where his trusty punching bag was waiting for him.

"Shouldn't you get some sleep?" asked a familiar voice. Slightly startled, Raph stopped and looked around. He was currently now in the living room or the main area of the lair, where the couches and the T.V. were. Raph turned his attention to one couch in particular, when Casey Jones was sitting up and looking at him with an unreadable expression.

When Casey finally arrived at the lair soon after the failed retro-mutagen attempt, he tried to comfort Raph and the others, even though everyone could clearly see that his normally brown eyes were a bright red. Then he insisted that he should stay the night so that they, as Casey put it, have a friendly face watching over them tonight.

When Master Splinter told him that he didn't have to do that, Casey just threw his bag on the couch and said that his Father had already given permission and that there was no school tomorrow anyway since it was Saturday. Master Splinter then gave his permission for Casey to stay the night, much to Raph's relief. Casey was his best friend after all and the idea of him staying the night made the lair not seem not so empty.

"I tried, but I can't," Raph answered as he continued his journey to his punching bag.

"I thought as much as," replied Casey behind him. When Raph finally reached his punching bag, he immediately sent some, but not all, of his rage into his plummeting fist. His punch sent the bag backwards high into the air before it rocketed back straight to Raph, only to have the angry turtle hit it really hard again.

"You just angry at those murderers right? Not at the kid?" This question startled Raph so much that he stopped hitting the bag and looked at Casey, who was standing a safe and respectable distance away from the red-masked turtle.

"What?" asked Raph right as he stopped the punching bag from colliding with him hard with one hand.

"I mean, you probably are, but I couldn't help but notice that you seemed a bit angry when Koumori talked to you," continued Casey. Raph sighed at the memory. Right after Casey arrived and they explained the Koumori situation to him, they all talked about what they should do. After some discussion, they concluded that even though Koumori could switch between forms like Karai's, Koumori's mind was not in danger of slipping away.

April then volunteered to take Koumori home with her, and perhaps she and her Father could find his picture in the missing child list. Master Splinter agreed, and though he didn't say it, Raph knew that he didn't want such a 'positive and innocent' child to be in a place full of sadness. Raph was perfectly fine with this plan, but then just before April and Koumori left, Koumori told him that he really liked his sai.

It was just a simple compliment, but for some reason, Raph's blood boiled at it. He didn't know whether it was because he was reminded of the fact that his sai had failed to protect Mikey. Or maybe it was seeing the bright and curious look in Koumori's eyes, the same look Mikey used to have in his own eyes. Or maybe it was because Raph was reminded of when Master Splinter hugged the little boy tightly, like Koumori was one of his own sons and that Mikey hadn't just died.

"I'm…not angry at him," answered Raph, though he knew that deep down he was probably lying. "I only replied slightly angrily because I…was having trouble holding in my anger at the murderer." Casey gave him an inquisitive look, like he knew that Raph was lying but wasn't sure. But then to Raph's relief, Casey just shook his head a little bit, like he was giving up on trying to read Raph's soul.

"Okay…then in that case, why don't we track down that monster right now and make him pay? I mean, it's not like you're sleeping anyway," asked Casey. Before Raph's mind could fully comprehend those words, Raph's heart agreed. Ever since Raph was forced to let that man with the sunglasses go, Raph had been saving up his rage for the time where he would surely meet him again. The time where he would have his total revenge.

"What happened to having a friendly face to watch over us tonight?" asked Raph with a slight smile.

"Hey, so says I'm not going to watch over you tonight as we track down that bad guy," replied Casey. "Besides, ever since you…told me, I've been planning to hunt him down. Even if I had to go alone."

"And what made you think that I would let you hunt him down alone? Mikey is…was my brother," asked Raph as he walked towards his best friend.

"Oh, I was just prepared to just in case you were against the idea of revenge," answered Casey.

"Master Splinter would be, and maybe Leo and Donnie as well. But not me. And I never will be against the idea of at least greatly hurting the man who killed my baby brother," said Raph as he offered his right hand and arm to Casey.

"And my really good friend," said Casey as he took Raph's offer with his left hand and arm. Raph nodded as he and Casey cemented the deal by pumping their joined hands slightly up and down. _Master Splinter won't be pleased and Leo won't be happy that just Casey and I went after him, but the less time that sunglasses man gets to walk free, the better._

Then, out of the corner of his eye, Raph saw him. Surprised, Raph turned his full attention to the dojo entrance and saw that he did indeed see Donnie there. His now only younger brother was just standing there, completely silent but wearing an expression so full of grief and pain that it hurt Raph just to look at him.

"Donnie…" Raph said softly as he let of Casey's hand and brought his arm to his side. _Did he hear us? _

"Can't go to sleep either?" asked Casey, his voice full of concern. Donnie nodded before he walked to Raph and laid his olive-green hand on Raph's kelly-green arm. Raph didn't know what message Donnie was trying to portray until he saw the pleading look in Donnie's eyes.

"You heard didn't you? And you don't want me to go?" Raph asked. Donnie nodded his head very firmly, fear that Raph would still go anyway in his eyes. Raph immediately felt conflicted. He still wanted to inflict his harsh and furious revenge on the sunglasses man as soon as possible.

But as he looked into his dear younger brother's eyes, he knew he would feel great guilt if he left him now. Especially since he now knew the reason why Donnie wasn't talking. Raph sighed as the memory when they realized why played through his mind like a recorded movie.

TMNT

After April and Koumori left the lair to go to April's home, Master Splinter turned to Donnie.

"Donatello…you haven't spoken once during our discussion. What is wrong my son?" their Father asked. Instead of answering, Donnie just gave a pained expression and looked at the ground.

"Donnie, it's okay. Just let the words out," supported Leo as he laid his hand on his now youngest brother's shoulder. Donnie responded to this by just staring at the ground.

"Dude, you need to let them out," added Casey.

"Yeah, I mean, you haven't spoken since…" Raph started to say when he suddenly realized with shock that the last time Donnie uttered words was right before Mikey was horribly taken from them. Leo then gasped, signaling to Raph that Leo just realized this too.

"Oh no," said Leo, his soft voice full of fear. "Donnie…your voice isn't gone is it?" Donnie didn't respond, which made Raph's own fear grow even greater.

"What?! How can his voice be suddenly gone?!" exclaimed Casey, anxiety in his voice. Raph's imagination then went haywire and came up with two possible solutions. One was that Donnie permanently blew out his voice when he started to scream and wail when Mikey died. The other one was that when Mikey's body disappeared in Donnie's arms, it somehow affected Donnie's voice for the worse. Unable to take his fear and anxiety anymore, Raph rushed to Donnie and grabbed him by the shoulders.

"Your voice is just exhausted from crying right? So you're just letting it rest and will be able to talk tomorrow? Right? "Right?! Answer me Donnie! Please!" exclaimed Raph as he shook Donnie back and forth.

"Raph stop!" exclaimed Leo as he separated the unresponsive Donnie and the extremely fearful Raph. Leo, the mother hen that he was, took Donnie into his arms while Master Splinter took Raph into his own arms.

"Please for the love of Pete say something! Anything!" cried Raph as he struggled to get out of his Father's arms, but to no avail. When Donnie again failed to respond in spoken word, Raph felt his world break even further. The person who was in charge of the universe already took his dear baby brother away, and how it seemed that he had taken one of his remaining brothers' voice as well.

"Calm down Raphael! Donatello's voice isn't gone!" exclaimed Master Splinter.

"What?" asked Leo, hope in his voice as Raph suddenly stopped struggling in Sensei's arms.

"Then how come he isn't talking?" asked Casey.

"Because he is traumatized. And sometimes, a person can become so traumatized that they are just too afraid to talk," explained Master Splinter. No one talked for a moment, letting this new information sink in.

"Then…when will Donnie talk again?" asked Leo.

"I don't know. When he is ready," replied Master Splinter.

TMNT

When Master Splinter had told them that, Raph felt a mixture of relief, anger, and sadness. Relief for knowing that he will indeed hear his brother's voice again. Sadness for not knowing when Donnie will speak again. Anger towards the man that had caused Donnie to be traumatized like this. _But…I guess I just have to hold in that anger just a bit longer._

"Alright, I won't go," Raphael said finally. _At least not tonight. _"C'mon, bro. Want to sleep with me tonight?" When Donnie nodded in this rare form of Raph's affection, Raph took Donnie's hand and led him out of the dojo.

"Thanks anyway Casey," he said as they passed the black-haired teenager.

"No problem. Night dudes," replied Casey, staying put where he was.

"Night," Raph replied back as he and Donnie left the dojo and towards Raph's room. _Don't worry Mikey. I will take care of Donnie and Leo till my dying day. And I swear, I will avenge you and Donnie, even if I lose my life in the process. _

**Oh gosh...poor Donnie...and Casey, you are a good friend. I will update in a few days (hopefully) and till then, please leave a review so I know how well/badly I am doing. Have a good night/day!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry for the long wait! Last week was really busy, with graduation and all. But here it is, and I will hopefully be updating more frequently.**

**I don't own TMNT. And only Koumori partly.**

April sighed as she walked down the sidewalk with Koumori. Despite looking through what felt every missing child report in the United States, April and her Dad did not find one with Koumori's picture on it, let alone find one with his name. They had even tried to ask the four-year-old where he lived, but they weren't able to get any answers from him. Well, helpful answers anyway.

April's Dad then suggested that they should take Koumori to the police but April protested heavily against that idea. She was too afraid that the very young boy might absent-mindedly change into his bat form in front of them, letting the police and probably the whole world know that little Koumori was a mutant, or in their words, a freak. _And there is no way I'm going to let that happen. Besides, Koumori doesn't belong in a police station or in a foster home anyway._

"April, what is that?" asked Koumori, bringing April out of her thoughts. April looked in the direction of Koumori's pointing finger and saw that they were right beside Antonio's Pizza-Rama. There were quite a few people inside, and all of them were eating their slices of pizza and talking to their friends or family.

"What is that they're eating?" Koumori asked again, curiosity and some skepticism in his voice. Surprised, April turned her attention away from the pizza restaurant and looked down at Koumori.

"That's pizza. Have you really never had pizza before?" asked April. _Mikey would think count this as a crime…Mikey._ Koumori shook his head as he readjusted his grip on the saddened April's hand.

"No. Everything here is so different than back home," Koumori replied. At the mention of home, April sighed inwardly as the memory of an earlier talk between Koumori and her and her Father played through her mind.

"_Koumori, can you tell us where you are from?" asked April, careful to pronounce each word carefully. This question was important, and she wanted to make sure that the little boy understood her._

"_Oh, my clan lives near Seto," Koumori replied in a way that suggested he thinks that everyone knows what Seto is. April turned to her Dad, but the look on his face told her that he had never heard of the place either._

"_And…where is Seto?" asked Kirby O'Neil._

"_In Nippon-koku of course. How did you not know that?" asked Koumori. April's father sighed before he muttered words similar to what April was thinking._

"_Because I do not know imaginary places."_

"I think you mean, 'Everything here is so different than from my home," corrected April, who rather correct Koumori's grammar than think about Koumori's inability to give them the answers they desperately needed in order to bring him back to his parents.

"What's the difference?" asked Koumori, sounding and looking very confused.

"Oh, it's just better grammar," informed April. "Besides it sounds better too." Koumori looked like he didn't believe April, but he didn't respond to her as he looked back at the pizza restaurant.

"Can we have some?" asked Koumori, his dark brown eyes having that pleading look in them. April didn't answer as she gazed at the people laughing and happily eating their pizza through the window. _Was it really only two days ago when Mikey asked me if I would pick up some pizza from here? Was it really only two days ago when Casey and I ate pepperoni and mushroom pizza with all of the turtles? We were so happy then…can we ever be that happy again?_

"April?" asked Koumori again, reminding April about Koumori's question. Quickly deciding on an answer, April wiped a tear away from her blue eye before smiling a little at Koumori.

"Of course Koumori," April said as she led Koumori towards the restaurant door. "In fact, we should get some for the turtles too. They…really like pizza too." _Especially Mikey. _April had to bit her lip in order to keep from crying as they walked inside the restaurant. _Just how long is my heart going to hurt like this? _

"April, why are you sad?" Koumori asked. The sudden question made April stop in her tracks and look at Koumori, who was looking inquisitively at her.

"What are you talking about? I'm not sad," lied April as she tried to stop the tears from falling out of her eyelids.

"Yes you are. And you were sad last night too. So were Leo, Donnie, Raph, Casey, and Master Splinter," Koumori responded within a second. "What happened?" The question was only two words, but it definitely wasn't simple. With those not very simple words, April's self-restraint completely and utterly broke as the tears fell swiftly down her face.

Not wanting to make a scene in public, April covered her soon-to-be tear-soaked face with her free hand. _How is it that I miss Mikey more than my own Mother? Is it because while I still have hope that I will see her again, I know without a doubt that I will never_ _Mikey's bright happy smile again? Oh Mikey, why did you have to go? Why did you have to leave us? I know it wasn't your fault but…did you really have to die?_

"April? What happened?" Koumori asked again, his voice sounding hesitant. April breathed in and let out several deep breaths, trying to calm herself down enough so that she could talk. Koumori needed to know that such a mutant turtle like Mikey had once existed.

"Last night…Leo's, Raph's, and Donnie's brother….Master Splinter's youngest son…one of mine and Casey's best friends…d…died," April finally managed to choke out after she brought down her hand. She was sort of aware that the people in the restaurant were staring at her uncomfortably but April didn't care. The only thing she wished for at this very moment was that Mikey was still alive.

"What was his name? Was he a good ninja too?" asked Koumori after a moment. April swallowed a sob that threatened to come out before she answered.

"Yes, his name was Michelangelo…but we called him Mikey. And he was one of the best ninjas I had ever known," April then place her hand over her now tear-soaked face again as she tried to gain control over her crying but to no avail. For a few moments, April stood there in the restaurant, crying and not caring about the small murmurs from the other customers.

Then suddenly, she felt someone hug her. April lifted her hand and looked down and saw that it was little Koumori who had wrapped his arms around her, his dark-haired head pressed against her waist.

"It's okay then. Momma told me that when honorable warriors die, they become stars to guide and protect us from the terrors of the night," said Koumori. Stunned, April's tears slowly started to fall less as she continued to gaze at Koumori. _He told us he was four-years-old, but is he really? He seems so much older than that…_

"Do they really?" April asked softly, her heavy heart feeling slightly lighter at the thought that Mikey is watching over them. Over her. Koumori nodded in response.

"Of course they do. My Momma is never wrong," Koumori replied in a matter-of-fact manner. _Dad did always say that our loved ones never leave us…but it is nice to hear it from someone else. Besides, the thought of Mikey being a bright and shining star…I like that. It really is fitting for him. _Smiling a little, April hugged Koumori back as she sniffled the last of the tears away.

"Thank you Koumori," she said gratefully as she wiped her wet face with one hand.

"You're welcome," he replied as he stopped hugging April and stepped back one step. April smiled as she grabbed Koumori's hand.

"C'mon, we better get that pizza. The turtles are probably wondering where we are," said April. And with that, April and Koumori walked towards the counter, their hearts feeling a bit warmer and their senses not picking up that there was a man in disguise watching them from afar.

TMNT

Finally, after what seemed like hours of feverish and restless sleep, Mikey was awake. It was true that his mind felt like it was surround by a thick fog and his shivering body was very weak, but Mikey wanted to know where he was. And to do that, he needed to be awake.

His eyelids feeling like ten-pound weights, Mikey slowly opened them to only find out that his eyesight was very hazy and blurry. However, Mikey didn't give up as he gazed at his surroundings. From what he was able to tell, he was lying on some blankets on the very brown dirt in place that would have been totally dark if it wasn't for some rays of sunlight and a candle shining brightly. _Definitely…not home..._

Then Mikey heard something being dipped in water right beside him. Even though Mikey used all of his strength, he could only move his head slightly in the direction of the noise. But it was enough to see who was squeezing the extra water out of rag into a bowl of water. It was Usagi, who was now dabbing Mikey's hot forehead with the damp rag. _Not Donnie, Leo, or Raph…not Father…not April or Casey…but maybe…they're somewhere nearby…_

"Where's…Donnie?"Mikey raspy voice weakly asked."And Raph…and Leo…and Sensei…and April…and Casey?"

"I do not know," Usagi answered sincerely, a worried look in his black eyes. Mikey's hope immediately fell, and as it did, Mikey felt himself get back tugged back to the world where everything constantly changed in the most disconcerting way. However, before Mikey because unconscious once again, he heard the rest of Usagi's sentence.

"I have asked around, but no one in Seto knows anything about you or your clan."

**So...what do you make of that? Please tell me in your review/comments and I will hopefully update Thursday, or very possibly Wednesday. Till then, see ya and have a good night/day!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Guest: I know. Poor Mikey indeed.**

**I don't own TMNT. And only Koumori partly.**

It had been almost two weeks since Donnie had lost his baby brother. It had been almost two weeks since the purple-masked turtle had spoken a word. It's not like he didn't want to speak though. There had been a few times where Donnie had tried to talk for his family's sake, but every time he opened his mouth, the image of Mikey dying in his arms would flash right in front of his brain. And that horrible memory was more than enough for Donnie to shut his mouth in fear and grief.

"Hello turtles! Hello Master Splinter!" Donnie heard a young and familiar voice cry out through his lab door. Donnie, as broken-hearted as he was, couldn't help but smile a bit when he Koumori's greeting. Even though they had tried their hardest in the last two weeks, Donnie and his family had yet to find any clue on how to find Koumori's family or to undo his mutation.

Despite that, however, the four-year-old boy was still optimistic and seemed to enjoy spending time with the three turtles and their Sensei. Koumori was also good pals with Casey, and it was obvious that he especially adored April, probably because he was still living with her and Kirby O'Neil and thus had a close bond with her. But then, Donnie couldn't see how anyone could not love the beautiful red-headed teenager.

"Hi Donnie!" Koumori cried as he suddenly slammed open the door to Donnie's lab, turned into a bat, and flew inside. Donnie didn't jump, he wasn't even startled. This wasn't the first time that Koumori had barged into his lab and besides, after years of his brothers also just charging in like it was their work space, Donnie was used to it.

"What are you working on?" asked the little boy who was now flying beside the turtle, with that all too familiar curious tone in his voice. Donnie sighed inwardly as the sound of the curious tone stung his already aching heart.

He liked the kid, he really did, but whenever Koumori's curiosity took over him, Donnie saw and heard Mikey in the kid. _No wonder Raph avoids Koumori like the plague. It hurts him too much to be reminded of Mikey like that. It hurts me too, but I'm not going to let that stop me from being friends with Koumori. And I'm the one who can't talk._

With a small smile, Donnie lifted the nearly fixed silver toaster slightly towards Koumori. _Why is it always the toaster that is broken? Oh well, at least it is an easy fix. Though…I could use a challenge right now. It might help me to temporarily forget…_Then Koumori transformed back into a boy and Donnie promptly handed the toaster to him.

"Wow…amazing..." complimented Koumori in awe as he turned the toaster around in his hands, so he could see every part of it. "What does it do?" If Donnie had eyebrows, he would have raised them in surprise. Not long after April had brought the little boy into the lair, it became blatantly obvious that Koumori had absolutely no knowledge of any modern technology or invention.

This came as a surprise to everyone, though Master Splinter had taken it better than the rest of them. Their Sensei said that there are some families in the world that raise their children away from the rest of world with only the simple necessities in life, like the Amish in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Obviously Koumori was one of these children who had never grown up watching T.V. or even sleeping in a place with AC.

_And apparently he has been living without a toaster for four years too. Man, I know I would go crazy if I had to grow up without any sort of technology whatsoever. I don't know how Koumori does it…though I guess he doesn't, or didn't, know any better._

"What does it do Donnie?" Koumori repeated, still holding the toaster in his arms. Donnie immediately picked up the pencil and notepad that he had been carrying around ever since he found out that he couldn't talk. Donnie then wrote down how toasters warm things up like bread with heat so that the bread would become crunchy and delicious, all in words that a four-year-old could understand.

"Ooo, that is amazing," said Koumori softly when Donnie showed him his notepad. Then Koumori smiled at the toaster in his arms before giving it back to Donnie. "I can't wait to tell my Papa and Momma about it." Donnie once again sighed inwardly as he placed the toaster back on the table. _For your and your parents' sakes, I hope that we can find them soon, or either that they somehow find us soon. They don't deserve to be separated from their kid…just like how Master Splinter is separated from Karai. From Mikey._

"C'mon, take a break from working and play pinball with me!" exclaimed Koumori as he suddenly grabbed Donnie's hand and tugged him towards the open lab door. Donnie, took a quick glance at the toaster before deciding that he could finished working on it later and let Koumori lead him out of the lab.

"Oh hi Donnie," April said with a sad yet bright smile when Koumori had pulled him into the living room. "Are you alright?" Even though she didn't say it, Donnie could read the hidden message in her lovely eyes: _Besides the fact that Mikey, your only younger brother, is gone forever_. In response, Donnie smiled a tiny bit, since considering that his heart still felt like a thousand pieces of broken glass, he thought he was at the moment, 'alright.'

"That's good," the love of his life said with relief. "That's good…" She looked like she was about to say something else but instead she shook her head and closed her mouth.

"We are going to play pinball," stated Koumori cheerfully as always. April then pulled a fake disappointed face.

"Really? And I was going to read a book to you too," April said with a fake sad voice. When Koumori gasped with delight, Donnie saw April fight to hide a small smile. "But if you rather play pinball, I guess I'll just have to read it by myself…"

"No, I want you to read it to me!" exclaimed Koumori as he dropped Donnie's hand and took April's hand. "I want you to read a book to me!

"Are you sure?" asked April in a teasing smile, with one blue eye winking at Donine. _Ah, now I get it. She thinks Koumori was bothering me so she is trying to distract him so I could focus on something else. I actually didn't mind playing pinball with Koumori, but I appreciate the gesture. Thanks April._

"Yes I'm sure!" exclaimed Koumori as he roughly pulled April to the couch. He then jumped on the sofa and patted to a place next to him. Donnie's heart immediately skipped a beat. His reddish-brown eyes widened in pain and shock. _That's the place…_

"Alright, alright, I'll read to you," laughed April as she sat down next to Koumori and picked up a book that was lying next to her. As April opened the book and held it out in front of her and Koumori, Donnie was dimly aware of his body shaking and his breathing getting a bit raspy. _That's exactly how…_

"What's it called?" asked Koumori as he snuggled up next to April. Then suddenly, Donnie didn't see or hear April and Koumori. Instead, he saw himself and Mikey from the past.

His six-year-old self was sitting in April's spot, reading the book while his six-year-old brother was in Koumori's spot, and was snuggling up against Donnie. The young Mikey was in awe as the young Donnie read the story, both of them smiling and sometimes laughing. Even though the two six-year-olds did this every night, the magic of going into another world never got old.

As soon as it came, the flashback was gone, leaving April and Koumori in the young Donnie's and young Mikey's place. Donnie placed a hand over his heart, like that would soothe this new and horrible pain. Donnie gritted his teeth and squinted his eyes as he took a few steps towards his lab, not wanting to cry again. _Stop tears…I have cried enough…Mikey wouldn't be happy…I have to keep moving on…stop…please stop tears…_

"Oh silly duck and goose!" laughed Koumori. When April laughed in response, Donnie immediately knew that he couldn't hold it in anymore. Seeing a precious memory being replayed like this was just too much for him. And he knew that he needed to get far away from the memory-inducing sight. Not bothering to hide his distress, Donnie turned away from the lab and quickly ran straight to his room.

"Donnie?" asked April, alarmed. In normal circumstances, Donnie would have stayed and answered her. But not tonight. So Donnie kept on running, tears already running down his face. When he finally reached his room, Donnie closed the door behind him. Then Donnie just slid down to the ground, his back leaning against the door and tears rapidly falling down his face as quiet sobs started to come out of his throat.

His heart hurting like a broadsword had pierced it straight through, Donnie cried as he curled up in the fetal position. _Mikey…I'm sorry, I tried, but…it just hurts way too much. When is it going to stop hurting so much Mikey? When will my heart stop feeling like it has been torn in two? I want this pain to stop Mikey. And I think…it's only going to stop if you stop being dead Mikey. So please come back. Please come back to me, Leo, Raph, Sensei, April, and Casey. Please! I need you to come back, I don't want to keep on living without you…please come back. Please._

In spite of himself, Donnie looked up, as if his silent pleas would somehow bring his baby brother back to life. But when he didn't see Mikey before him, smiling and purely happy, Donnie put his head back on his knees and continued to sob.

**:( Donnie, if only if you knew...In any case, what did you guys think about this chapter? Please tell me in a review and I will update this on Monday. Though, I should warn you, things are going to pick up in the next chapter (I was planning to end this chapter differently but I decided to just put all the next events in the next one).**

**Till then, good night/day and thank you for reading my chapter/fanfic!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Thanks for all the reviews so far! Really, I appreciate them all!**

**Guest who review Chapter 5: Poor Mikey indeed...**

**I don't own TMNT. And only Koumori partly.**

Leo sat down with a slightly exhausted sigh as he sat down on the floor. He had just finished sparring with Raph and his body hurt a bit from all the blows that Raph had landed on him. But Leo didn't mind. He knew that rage had been building up inside of Raph ever since Mikey died, despite Raph's attempts to hide it. _If beating me up can appease his anger, then so be it. And besides, it's not like I don't deserve it anyway._

Leo picked up the water bottle beside him and took a swig as Raph started to punch his punching bag mercilessly. Casey was rewrapping his hockey stick and Master Splinter was polishing something that looked like to be a trophy. It was like everything was back to normal, except for the lack of hearing Mikey gush over Crognard or Donnie excitedly talking about his newest invention. _Well, at least we will be able to hear Donnie again…but never again will we hear Mikey say anything…_

Leo squeezed his plastic bottle, making the bottle crackle and giving Leo some control of his emotions and thoughts. Desperately wanting to distract himself before they had another chance to take over him, Leo got back up and looked around. When he saw that Master Splinter was still polishing the unfamiliar trophy, Leo walked over to him.

"Where did you win that trophy Sensei?" asked Leo, actually a bit curious about where his Sensei had gotten it. In all of his fifteen years, Leo had never seen anything like this trophy before. It was made out of some kind of blue crystal and it had three tiers. The first and bottom tier was a hexagon, the second and middle tier was a pentagon, and the third and last tier was a tall rectangle. To top it all off, there was a golden circle attached to the top tier, with his Sensei's name and the year 1995 inscribed on it.

"That's right, you or your brothers have never seen this, haven't you?" asked Master Splinter with a wistful smile.

"Yeah, where did that come from?" asked Raph, who had stopped fighting his punching bag and was now walking over to them, a confused look on his face. "I know every inch of this lair, but never have I seen that trophy."

"That is because I hid it," explained Master Splinter. "There really wasn't a safe place to put it, and besides, you four…" Master Splinter suddenly stopped talking. Leo's stomach dropped in grief and guilt when he saw his Father's face twitch in pain. Then Master Splinter shook his head and continued to explain.

"Were too young to know where I had won this anyway." Leo frown in confusion. _What tournament could there be where me and the others could not learn about till we were older?_

"And we are old enough now?" asked Raph, his voice sounding a bit tense. Leo sighed, his hope utterly deflated since it was obvious that some of his brother's anger was not taken out on him.

"Yes. Yes you are," Master Splinter responded, who, if he heard the tension in Raph's voice, decided to not comment on it. "I won this at the Battle Nexus." _Battle Nexus? _Then, before Leo or anyone could respond, they heard a cry of alarm from outside the dojo.

"Donnie?!" cried April. Leo's heart immediately dropped to his stomach. _Donnie! _Not stopping to ponder on what was wrong with his now youngest brother, Leo ran out of the dojo like he was faster than the wind itself.

Before he knew it, Leo was in the living room, where April was standing up and facing towards the hall where their bedrooms lie. Koumori, looking confused and concerned, was sitting on the couch with a picture book in his lap. But to Leo's ever-increasing alarm and anxiety, Donnie was nowhere to be seen.

"What happened?" Leo hurriedly as he slowed down to a complete stop near April and Koumori. "Where's Donnie?" _Please please please let him be alright, I can't take it if something happened to him too…_

"I don't know!" exclaimed April as she turned around to face Leo. The worry and confusion in her blue eyes heightened Leo's anxiety even greater than it already was. "He just suddenly ran off to his room!" Leo immediately felt some relief. _He just ran to his room…probably to cry. That's not that great, but at least nothing horrible to him…like what happened to Mikey._

"Well something had to have happened!" exclaimed Raph angrily. Leo turned around and saw that his hot-headed brother had followed him to the living room, along with his Father and his friend Casey.

"Let's see…I was sitting here, and April was sitting there," Koumori told them as he showed the others where he and April were sitting with a point of his finger. Then he raised his book called _Duck and Goose_ up high. "And April was reading me this book out loud to me. Then Donnie just ran off looking really sad."

At that moment, Leo understood everything as his heart convulsed painfully within him. Leo never forgot about the days when Donnie used to read out loud to Mikey in that very spot on the couch. The days when they were still very young and innocent about the ways of the world. The days when they thought they were going to be together forever.

"It was too much for him…" murmured Leo. Then, before anyone could ask him what he meant by that or even what he said, Leo started to run faster than the wind again. This time however, he was running straight to Donnie's room, and his heart wasn't full of anxiety. Instead, his heart was full of concern and sympathetic pain.

_It really was too much, wasn't Donnie? To suddenly see that memory played out like that…especially when you are still deeply traumatized after seeing Mikey die in your arms. _When Leo finally reached Donnie's room, he stopped and quietly knocked on the door before opening it.

"Donnie?" he asked softly right before he saw him. Donnie was sitting right in front of the door, and was crying softly in the fetal position. Leo suddenly had an unpleasant flashback of him crying in that very same position not even two weeks ago. Biting his lip to hold his own tears back, Leo got down on the floor next to Donnie and pulled him close to him with one arm.

"It's alright…it is okay to cry…just let it out…" Leo said in his most comforting tone as his free hand rubbed Donnie's back in a circular motion. Then Donnie, who had stiffen a bit when Leo had pulled him suddenly to his chest, hugged Leo like he was his lifeline and began to cry louder into Leo's chest.

Hearing and seeing his younger brother act like this, Leo's guilty and hurting heart suddenly couldn't take it anymore. His face crumbling and big tears of grief and unbelievable pain trailing down his face like a waterfall, Leo held Donnie tightly as heart-wrenching sobs came out of his own throat.

"I'm sorry…I'm sorry…" Leo managed to choke out between his sobs. _This is all my fault Donnie…if I was a better leader, you wouldn't be here like this…unable to talk and sobbing your heart out. Raph wouldn't be even angrier than usual, Master Splinter and the others wouldn't be heartbroken and Mikey…Mikey would still be alive. _

_Mikey would still be watching Crognard, pranking Raph, reading comic books, and eating if it wasn't for me. I'm sorry Donnie, everyone...I'm sorry Mikey. I wish I could go back in time to stop you from dying…but I can't. I would do anything, include make a deal with the Devil if it would mean that I could see your joyful light blue eyes again…I'm sorry Mikey..._

"I'm sorry!" cried Leo, sounding like the organ that was responsible for pumping blood through his veins was being repeatedly punched and kicked by a master ninja. Then Leo brought his head down to Donnie's shoulder and continued to sob. Leo wasn't sure of how long he and his now youngest brother stayed like that, hugging each other and crying like their world was collapsing all around them.

"Leo! Donnie!" Leo suddenly heard Casey exclaim. Leo picked up and turned his head around to see Casey looking frightened behind him and Donnie. Before Leo could ask what was wrong or even start to feel afraid, Casey spoke once again. And these words quickly brought terror to Leo's already fragile heart.

"Raph went off to hunt Mikey's murderer on his own!"

TMNT

For the last two weeks, Raph had managed to keep his rage inside. He had managed to keep it in despite that fact he and Casey had yet to find any clue to where Mikey's murderer was, even though they searched for him just about every night. Raph had managed to keep it in despite the fact that Koumori, with his cheerful smile and curious eyes, acted like he belonged in the lair. Like he belonged in Raph's family.

But after he figured out that April and Koumori had made Donnie cry because they had unintentionally replayed a precious memory from the past, Raph had had enough. But unlike two weeks ago, before Mikey died, Raph didn't yell or wanted to fight with Koumori or even Master Splinter. Instead, Raph kept quiet as he sneaked off towards the lair's entrance and exit.

Luckily, Master Splinter was explaining to the others why Donnie was upset, and the others in turn were too absorbed in his words to even notice that Raph had moved an inch. And they didn't continue to notice, even when Raph was past the turnstiles.

And once he was past the turnstiles, Raph ran, rage and determination in each bounding step as he raced towards the manhole that would lead him to the surface. In what seemed to be at no time at all, Raph had reached the ladder that would lead him directly to the outside world. Then in record speed, Raph had climbed through the manhole, closed it, and climbed up the nearest fire escape right up to the roof.

Raph then ran and jumped from rooftop to rooftop, the memories of the last ten or so minutes fueling his rage to even greater heights. _How could he…how could Master Splinter do that! If we were now old enough to know about the place where Master Splinter got that trophy, why didn't he tell bring it out two weeks ago! Why did he decide to wait until Mikey was dead?! Why?! Mikey could be immature sometimes, but he was mature to know about this stupid Battle Nexus place!_

Raph gritted his teeth in anger as he looked around him as he ran, but he did not see any sign of the man he was hunting for. _It's one thing if Master Splinter just forgot about the trophy until recently, but he has also been treating Koumori like he…like he…like he was Mikey's replacement! Even when Mikey was dead for only an hour, Master Splinter hugged Koumori like he was his son! _

_And to make it all worse, Koumori has been acting all cheerful and optimistic, just like Mikey used to! It's like Koumori thinks that he deserves to take Mikey's place! He even had April read to him in exactly the same way Mikey used to have Donnie read to him! _

"Aaargh!" Raph cried out in frustration as he skidded to a stop on an empty rooftop. Raph turned all around, but once again, he did not see the man who had taken his dear and precious baby brother away from him.

"WHERE ARE YOU!" screamed Raph. _If it wasn't for him, if it wasn't for that murderer…Master Splinter wouldn't be treating Koumori like he used to treat Mikey! Mikey wouldn't be in danger of being replaced by that little brat! Donnie wouldn't have been reduced to tears by Koumori! Donnie wouldn't have temporarily lost his voice! And most important of all, Mikey would be alive!_

"Right here." Raph's heart skipped a beat, but only because of sudden anticipation, not fear. In one swift motion, the red-masked turtle took out his sai and turned his whole body around. And right there, right on top of the edge of the rooftop, was the man in the sunglasses and the long black coat.

"It is finally nice to formally meet you Raphael," said the man with a smirk, like he was king of the world. "You may call me Agent Bishop. How do you do?"

**Dun dun dunnnn! I told you things were going to pick up, didn't I? But what is going to happen in the next chapter? Will Raph be okay fighting against this villain from the 2003 series? In any case, please review this chapter (so I can continue to be a better writer) and I will most likely update by Thursday. Till then, have good luck in whatever you are trying to accomplish!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Marcy Whitesel: Sure, I can describe her again (it was only briefly after all). Bethany from _Adventures in Cartoonland _has light red, wavy hair, is around 5"5, has green eyes, and is a Caucasian. I hope that helps you:)**

**I wrote it in time! Yay! I hope you all like it!**

**I don't own TMNT. And Koumori only partly.**

"Peachy now that you're here," growled Raph as he twirled his sai. _Wait, how did he know my name? Oh who cares, he's here…I finally found him. Or rather he found me, but I don't care, as long as I get to kill him._

"You want to kill me don't you?" asked Agent Bishop with a small sneer as he hopped down from the edge to the flat and gray rooftop. "In order to avenge your brother."

"Congratulations, you get a cookie," Raph replied right before he ran towards the man wearing black sunglasses, even though it was nearing midnight. With a yell of pure fury, Raph jumped when he got near Bishop, both of his sai raised high and directed right at the murderer's chest.

But before Raph's sai could hit their mark, Bishop calmly and swiftly jumped to the side, completely missing Raph's attack. Not missing a beat, Raph turned to the side and swung one of his sai at Bishop yet again once he landed on the ground. However, instead of dodging the sai again, Bishop just quickly grabbed Raph's wrist with the sai, with only one hand.

"Not bad Raphael, not bad," complimented Agent Bishop, his sneer even greater. "But can you keep it up?" Then in fluid motion, Agent Bishop kicked Raph's plastron and let go of the furious turtle's wrist, causing Raph to fly backwards a few feet.

Raph landed hard on his back, knocking the air out of him. However, as much as Raph wanted just a second to catch his breath, he had to roll to the side in order for Bishop not to land with both feet on his plastron.

Just seconds after Raph rolled to the right, Bishop's leap ended right where Raph was lying. Even though his plastron ached, Raph made himself get up and face Bishop again. _Okay, so he's tougher than I thought…but I have to defeat him. I have to kill him. I have to avenge Mikey's death. I have to avenge Donnie's voice._

Letting out his rage, frustration, and grief in one big giant yell, Raph rushed right back at Bishop, and attacked him. And Bishop fought back, and it quickly became clear that while Raph was fighting with all his strength and ability, Bishop was holding back. And Bishop still had the upper hand with his martial arts.

Then finally, Agent Bishop hit Raph with an uppercut and immediately after that, a roundhouse kick. This combo forced both sai out of Raph's hands as Raphael was sent flying, landing very heavily on his side several feet.

"Is that all you have to offer?" asked Agent Bishop as he walked up to Raph's sai and picked them up. "I was expecting more from someone who had defeated the Kraang and saved New York despite all odds."

"You…know about that? How?" Raph asked, surprised and startled as he slowly and painfully got to his knees.

"Oh please, did you really think I would kill your brother without putting considerate thought into it? Did you really think your activities during the night went by unnoticed?" asked Agent Bishop rhetorically as he slowly but steadily walked towards Raph, a sai in each hand.

"Ever since you and your brothers have saved New York, me and the rest of EPF have been trailing you, watching you, and studying you," continued Agent Bishop, now only a foot or so away from the aching turtle. "Now the time has come to show myself, and my hand."

"But why?! Why Mikey?! What did he do to you?! Shouldn't you be thanking him for helping to save this city and the world?!" exclaimed Raph angrily, who had heard enough. With a short yell, Raph quickly got to his feet and aimed a punch right at Bishop's smug face. However, Bishop just swap Raph's fist away like a fly and hit Raph's head with the handle end of a sai, bringing Raph back down to the ground hard.

"If he was a human, I, as the Director of the Earth Protection Force, would indeed thank him. But, he is only a turtle," explained Bishop as he pointed both sai at the injured teenage mutant turtle. "And while he was an interesting specimen, he was still an animal. And animals only exist for us humans to use!" With those words, Bishop brought both of the sai down, right at Raph's defend-less body.

There was no time to dodge. There was no time to fight back. The only time Raph had was to close his eyes, and make a single guilty plea. _Mikey, Donnie, I'm sorry. I failed. Please forgive me. _Then out of the blue, there was a heart-wrenching yell, which was quickly followed by a clash between two different kinds of metal. Surprised and confused to why he wasn't dead yet, Raph opened his eyes and saw that his two sai had been blocked by two weapons. Leo's katanas.

TMNT

"You took one younger brother away from me," growled Leo angrily and protectively as he kept on pushing Raph's sai away from his downed little brother. "There is no way I'm letting you take another!" With those words, Leo gave a mighty push with his katanas, which forced the leader of the EPF to let go of Raph's sai.

As the sai were sent flying through the air, Donnie came rushing in and hit Mikey's murderer square in the face with a huge whack. This caused the man to stumble backwards, his hand on his injured face. Leo then rushed at the Director, his katanas raised and ready to stop the human from ever hurting his brothers again.

However, just before Leo reached him, the Director gave a giant leap backwards, landing nicely on the levitated edge of the rooftop nearest to the alley on the right side. Then, to Leo's great surprise, the man held his hands up, like he was surrendering to the three turtles and Casey, who was currently attending to Raph.

"Instead of having a pointless fight, why don't we have a bargain?" he asked with an evil smile. This unexpected offer startled Leo enough that he stumbled to a stop. Filled with confusion and wariness, Leo searched the Director's face for any sign of a lie, but to no avail.

"Bargain?! Why would we bargain with the likes of you?!" exclaimed Casey behind him. Though he didn't say anything, Leo completely agreed with his human friend. _This man killed Mikey and was about to kill Raph. There is no bargain on Earth that I would want to make with him. Un...Unless…_

"Give me April and I will give you what you desperately want," answered the Director. Leo was immediately filled with relief, because he was beginning to be afraid that the Director's men had surrounded Leo and his present family members. But that relief only lasted for a second as alarm, surprise, and fear filled every inch of his emerald-green body.

"What?" asked Leo, unable and not wanting to believe his ears. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Donnie give a frightened and protective look as he gripped his bo tightly. _How…how does he know about April? Why does he want her?_

"Why do you want her? She's just a human girl!" exclaimed Raph behind him. _Well, not exactly Raph. She is also half-Kraang._

"Yeah! And even if she wasn't, there is nothing that you have that will justify giving our friend over to you!" yelled Casey defiantly. Leo again silently agreed with Casey but seeing the confident expression on the murderer's face left him confused. _What in the world could it be? And why is this man so sure that we would want it so much that we will willingly betray April? _

"We both know that isn't true Raph. And is there Jones?" asked the man. Then without waiting for an answer, the man swiftly took a small item out of his pocket and threw it at Leo's feet. His katanas still drawn, Leo looked down and was surprised to find out that the small item was a black and gray USB drive.

"Everything you can learn about the item that you will desperately want is on that drive. Also, as a gesture of goodwill, the location of where I will be is also on there," explained the man as he turned around. "And once you have decided that to take me up on my offer, go there and ask for me, Agent Bishop. I will be patiently waiting."

Then, without any warning, Agent Bishop jumped off the side of the building. Leo ran to the edge and reached it just in time to see a van drive out of the alley, with the man crouched on top of it. It was only when the van was out of sight did Leo put his katanas back in their sheath and let himself be relieved that the enemy was gone.

"How did he know about April?" Casey asked out loud as Leo turned around. Donnie was now also at Raph's side, and both purple-masked turtle and teenaged human boy were helping Raph get to his feet.

"Bishop told me he had been watching us ever since we took back New York," explained Raph as he winced a bit in pain as his younger brother and best friend finished getting him to his feet with great success. Leo then sighed with relief, glad to know that his little and closest brother was okay.

And once again, that relief lasted for only a second but this time anger filled Leo's heart and soul. Leo then rushed towards Raph, reaching him in five seconds flat. When Leo reached him, he roughly grabbed his kelly-green skinned brother by the shoulders.

"Do you know how lucky you are?!" yelled Leo. "Do you not realize if it wasn't for Koumori seeing you leave the lair and Casey admitting what you two have been foolishly doing for the last two weeks, you would be dead by now?!"

"Sorry for that again by the way Leo," apologized Casey sheepishly. "I realize…"

"Can it Casey!" exclaimed Leo rudely. "I will deal with you later!" _Right after I make Raph understand that he can never do that to me again. _Then Raph, who was shocked when Leo started to yell at him, grew to look quite angry.

"Hey! He was helping me hunt down and kill the monster who killed Mikey!" exclaimed Raph angrily as he swept Leo's hands off his shoulders. "Which is what all of us should have been doing the whole time! Not…"

"At what price?!" interrupted Leo, who had now completely snapped with frustration, anger, and the fear that comes after one has almost lost a loved one. "Your life?! Casey's?! Donnie's?! April's?! Master Splinter's?! Mine?!"

"What? No, nobody will die!" Raph exclaimed, his green eyes full of shock.

"You don't know that!" exclaimed Leo. "You didn't expect to be defeated and almost die tonight, did you?!"

"No…" answered Raph a tiny bit sheepishly before Leo interrupted him again, since the eldest turtle was on a roll now.

"And let's say you did win. You killed Bishop and avenged Mikey. But…what if it was at the expense of your life? Can…can you imagine what the rest of us would feel? I can tell you now, we wouldn't be happy that Mikey's murderer is dead, and that Mikey was avenged. No. We would just feel even more sorrow at the fact that you were dead too Raph."

Knowing that this very well could have happened, tears appeared in Leo's blue eyes and threatened to fall. Leo bit his lip and took a deep breath.

"Our pain would be greater than it is now and we wouldn't be happy or laugh for the longest time. If ever again," continued Leo, his voice shaking with emotion. "And Mikey wouldn't have want that. And he wouldn't have wanted you or anybody else to die because of revenge either. You do know that…right?"

For a moment, Leo's beloved little brother, the brother that was close to him like Mikey and Donnie were close with each other, didn't answer. Raph had his eyes closed and his face was beginning to crumble. Then Raph opened his eyes, and Leo could clearly see the guilt and grief in them.

"No…he wouldn't. He wouldn't," Raph replied, his voice quivering. Then he did something he hardly ever did. He hugged Leo tightly and sobbed into his oldest brother's plastron. Raph sobbed as Donnie looked down at his feet and Casey bit his lip, a few tears falling down his face. Leo didn't say anything as he returned Raph's hug, his spirit fully calmed down now.

"I'm sorry…I didn't mean..." Raph managed to choke out between his sobs. A tear or two falling down his own cheeks, Leo sighed.

"I know Raph. I know."

**Oh gosh...I really don't know what else to say except...poor turtles. Oh and Bishop, you are an evil dude. So what did you guys think of this chapter? Please review and I will update on Saturday (hopefully). You guys are awesome!**


	9. Chapter 9

**I wrote it in time! Yay! I hope you like it you awesome readers :)**

**Guest: Leo and Raph did have a cute moment huh?**

**I don't own TMNT. And only Koumori partly.**

For the first time in what seemed like forever, Mikey woke up without his mind surrounded by a thick fog or with hazy eyesight. His body had even stopped shaking uncontrollably. Mikey still felt weak, but he knew he had definitely gained a good bit of his old strength back. For which Mikey was really grateful for.

When Mikey opened his eyes, he clearly saw his surroundings for the first time. The dark place he now understand was a big cave with a rocky curved ceiling, and with an entrance that was small and several feet away from the young turtle who was indeed lying on a few colored blankets.

Mikey also saw the young mutant rabbit that had taken care of him when he was weak and feverish. Usagi was sitting down next to Mikey, his back lying against the rocky wall and his black eyes closed. He had one hand on his sword and his breaths were slow and steady, telling Mikey that Usagi was definitely asleep.

Mikey looked around and he was alone in the cave with samurai. Mikey let out a small sigh, feeling disappointed and sad that his brothers and the rest of his small family were not here with him as well. _Where are they? Heck, where am I? How did I get here? _

The young ninja turtle then thought back to the time where he last saw his brothers and what had immediately happened afterwards. But no matter how hard Mikey concentrated, his memory was patchy and he could not figure out how he ended up in the swirling river that was next to an apple orchard.

"How am I going to get back to them if I don't even know the way?" muttered Mikey to himself. Then suddenly, Mikey heard a groan. Mikey looked over to Usagi and saw him shift a bit as he let out another small groan. _Oh good, he's waking up, he should know where we are…wait! Maybe he knows how to get to New York! _

Full of hope, Mikey began to sit up even though it was somewhat difficult and his body just wanted to lie back down on the makeshift bed. But Mikey didn't care. The only thing he care about was getting back to his family, and that was exactly what he going to do. Weakened or no weakened body. Then Usagi opened his eyes and turned his head towards Mikey.

"Michelangelo-san!" exclaimed the rabbit, with both relief and alarm as he quickly laid his hands gently on Mikey's shoulders.

"Hey dude, thanks for…whoa, what are you doing?" asked Mikey, a bit alarmed when he realized that Usagi was trying to gently but firmly push him back down to the bed.

"While I am glad that you are feeling better Michelangelo-san, you are still in no position to get up," explained Usagi as he pushed Mikey back to the bed, despite all of Mikey's resistance. "Your fever was a very bad one, and there were times I wondered if you were going to make it. Luckily, it finally broke a few days ago, but you are still weak. You need to rest."

For a second, Mikey just stared at Usagi, stunned at the sincerity behind his words. _He…he did more than just help me…he saved me. If it wasn't for him, I never would have had the chance to go back home and my family would grieve…_Mikey gasped as a certain piece of his memory came back to him.

Without thinking and ignoring the Usagi's cry of alarm, Mikey shot straight up and with one hand touch his back. However, to his surprise, there was no bandage, no cut, or any sign that he was shot there. His shell felt just as it normally did, rough and bumpy, with ridges.

"I don't get it…it doesn't even hurt…" Mikey said softly, shocked and confused.

"What is the matter Michelangelo-san?" asked Usagi, sounding very confused as well.

And even though Usagi also sounded conflicted, he didn't make Mikey lie on the bed again, for which Mikey was grateful for.

"I…before I got separated from my brothers…I got shot in the back. But there isn't a wound. See?" explained Mikey as he twisted his upper body so that Usagi can see. Mikey then felt Usagi put a hand on shell and instead of hurting like it should be, Mikey's shell just felt a bit warmer from Usagi's fur.

"Hmm…perhaps you imagined it? You were sick for about two weeks, maybe you are confused…" Usagi started to say as he lifted his hand off of Mikey's shell.

"No!" interrupted Mikey firmly as he shook his head and untwisted his upper body and faced Usagi. "This was real. I was on the rooftop with my brothers and we were about to go home to watch Crognard when all of a sudden I felt something hit my shell like a rock." Then like a bolt of lightning, Mikey remembered something else, something very important.

"It…actually didn't hurt then either," continued Mikey, his usual energetic voice soft, calm, and confused. "I just felt…weird, like my whole body was being separated into tiny little pieces. Then, the next thing I knew, I wasn't on the rooftop with my brothers. I was in the river fighting for my life."

Talking about his experience out loud to Usagi suddenly made Mikey realize something, making him gasp with horror. _We were being attacked! My brothers and I were being attacked! And I left them! It was against my will, but I left them behind to face the attackers alone!_

"I got to find my brothers! I have to know if they are alright!" exclaimed Mikey as he tried to fully get up, only for Usagi to hold him down by grabbing his shoulders again.

"Trust me, I know how you feel, but you will be no help to them if you suddenly have a relapse," said Usagi firmly but sympathetic. "Especially since it is clear that you were hit with a magic spell." At that comment, Mikey stopped resisting and gazed at Usagi with wonder.

"Magic?" asked Mikey, who despite himself was hoping that he had heard right.

"Yes," Usagi confirmed with a nod. "You were on a rooftop one moment and in the next you are in the river. The only explanation for this is that someone for some reason transported you from there to here." Even though he didn't show it, Mikey couldn't help but feel elated.

_Magic is real! I knew it! Yahoo! I can't wait to tell the others…oh yeah. They're in New York, possibly hurt or captured or maybe even…no, they're alive! They have to be! And I have to go back to them, before they start to…oh no. They saw me get shot, what if they think I'm dead?!_

"Where is here anyway?" asked Mikey quickly, full of determination. _I have to get back now! Health or no health, I have to see if they are alright! And they have to see that I am alive and alright too!_

"We are a mile or so away from Seto," answered Usagi. _Seto? Never heard of it. But then I definitely don't know all the countries in the world._ "Where were you before you arrived in the river?"

"New York City," replied Mikey, desperately hoping that Usagi knew how to get to New York. "Do you know how to get there?" Then Usagi said some words that shocked and horrified Mikey all the way to his inner core.

"New York City? I have never heard it."

TMNT

Master Splinter sighed as Raphael kneeled before him, waiting to be reprimanded by him. A part of Master Splinter just wanted to yell Raphael for being so stupid and making him feel afraid for his son's life. The other part of him just wanted to hug Raphael and cry in relief that he was alright. _Does every child make their parents feel like this? Probably, though maybe not as much as my sons._

"Do you know that what you did was wrong?" Master Splinter finally asked with an edge in his voice, deciding to go between the angry and relieved routes.

"Hai Sensei," replied Raphael, sounding repentant and solemn. "I realize now that revenge can have unintended consequences…that I definitely don't want." For a moment, Master Splinter was stunned speechless by the wisdom behind his son's words. _He really has grown up…_

"That and the fact that all life is a precious gift, and it shouldn't be taken away unless there is no other way," added Master Splinter.

"Are you saying that Bishop and Shredder deserve to live?" asked Raphael, a bit of anger behind his words. The mutant rat sighed once again, as Raphael's words struck a chord within him. _Ah, there's my son…though…he does have a point. _

"Maybe not," admitted Splinter. "But that is not the point."

"Then what is the point?" asked Raphael, his anger getting stronger. _I better answer quickly before he goes on a rampage again._

"The point is that taking a life can never be undone, thus the decision definitely not be taken lightly, if at all," said Master Splinter. "Also, no one has granted us the right to kill, so why should we think any different?"

Luckily, the rat who used to be Hamato Yoshi saw the fire in Raphael's green eyes die down till it didn't exist at all. Master Splinter sighed with relief. _Thank goodness…he agrees with me. Now I can just make him do twenty more katas tomorrow or something like that. Though, according to Leo, it sounds like Raphael might have been punished enough…_

"I'm sorry Sensei," Raphael suddenly apologized. Master Splinter smiled as he walked up to his second-eldest son and placed a hand on his head.

"It is al…" the father started to say when Raphael continued.

"It was just knowing that Koumori and April had made Donnie upset in a horrible way…I just couldn't take it anymore. I was planning to pay him back anyway, but I decided to just do it right then and there. Even though I had to do it alone."

This confession made Splinter split up into two again. On one hand, Master Splinter understood, and the other was a bit worried. _Raphael always has been protective of his brothers and never liked to see his brothers truly hurt, so it makes sense that when Donatello was upset again because of Michelangelo's death, it pushed Raphael over the edge. However…he isn't mad at Koumori and April is he?_

"You do know that April and Koumori did not mean to upset Donatello right?" asked Master Splinter as he took his hand off of Raphael's head.

"Oh, I know April meant no harm," answered Raphael, his voice a bit tense again. The very same tension that had been present in Raphael's voice a good number of times throughout the last two weeks. Master Splinter knew that his son was grieving and just needed some time. _But now it looks like the time is up._

"And what about Koumori?" asked Master Splinter. When Raphael just looked down at the ground, Master Splinter's suspicions were confirmed.

"Why do you hate Koumori?" he asked. Raphael gasped with shock as he looked up at his Father.

"I…I don't hate him," replied Raphael. While the Sensei did sense some truth behind his son's words, he also sensed that Raphael was holding back. Something that was destroying his son on the inside.

"Then why do you treat him like an unwanted mouse?" asked Master Splinter, his eyebrow raised. Raphael did not respond for a moment. Then he gritted his teeth in anger.

"You really don't know?" asked Raphael, his voice resembling a low growl.

"No, I do not," replied Master Splinter, a bit alarm at Raphael's sudden hostility but knowing that he cannot back down now. "Tell me please Raphael. What is your problem with Koumori? He is just a young boy who despite his mutation and being separated from his family, is very cheerful, kind, curious…"

"And exactly like Mikey!" Raphael suddenly yell, grief, hurt, and anger in voice as well as in his eyes. "And that's not the worst part! The worst part is that you immediately treated him like a part of the family! Even though Mikey wasn't dead for even two hours, you treated Koumori like he was Mikey's replacement!" Master Splinter was completely stunned and shocked. _Michelangelo's replacement?_

"Well guess what! I don't want Mikey to get replaced! I don't want him to be forgotten! Never, never, never!" Raphael continued as tears threatened to fall out of his eyes. Master Splinter couldn't talk for a moment, shock and horror filling his heart and soul. _He…he really thinks that? He really thinks that Koumori is replacing Michelangelo in our small family?_

Master Splinter opened his mouth to respond but he never got the chance. At that exact moment, he was interrupted. He was interrupted by loud cries from outside the dojo. Loud cries that sounded awfully like they were full of pure joy and relief.

**Hmm...what could this mean? Answers will be answered in the next chapter! Well, some of them anyway. In any case, please review (so I can know what I am doing right or wrong) and have a great weekend! Chapter 10 will be up shortly. **


	10. Chapter 10

**I don't own TMNT. And only Koumori partly.**

_Quite a few minutes earlier:_

Casey sighed with relief as he walked into Donnie's lab. _Finally, Leo stopped reprimanding me for encouraging Raph to exact revenge on that guy. It's true that I did deserve it, but Leo could have loosen up with the lecture just a tiny bit…I mean, it's not like I wanted Raph to go off on his own and almost die or anything like that. Oh well, the lecture is over now and now I can find out…_

"Oh hi Casey, I see you're back from your talk with Leo," said April coolly as Casey closed the lab door behind him. April was leaning against Donnie's desk, her normally gentle blue eyes were now glaring daggers at the black-haired teenager. Actually a bit afraid for his life, Casey looked to Donnie and Koumori for support, but Donnie was too busy at his computer and Koumori was too busy playing with an action figure.

"Yes I am," replied Casey cheerfully, inwardly praying that April wasn't going to kill him. "And I must say I have learned my lesson. I will never encourage Raph or anyone else to seek revenge." Casey's heart started to beat very loudly to Casey's ears as April continued to gaze daggers at him. _Please let her be appease, please let her be appease…_Then finally, much to Casey's relief, April just sighed.

"You better," April said a bit less coolly with her eyes closed. Then she opened them, showing fierce determination and sincerity in her beautiful blue eyes. "Or else I will personally make you learn it again. And it will be way more than just a stern lecture." Casey didn't reply, he just nodded and gulped, just grateful that April only made a threat. _I believe it._

"Like what April?" asked Koumori, looking up from the action figure, which Casey could clearly see now that it was Crognard holding his magical sword. The teenaged boy felt his heart saddened when he realized that the action figure used to belong to Mikey. _Mikey…_

"Oh, you wouldn't want to know," responded April as she walked back to Donnie's desk. April's words reminding Casey of the reason why he entered the lab in the first place, Casey reached into his pocket.

"Yes I do!" protested Koumori as he placed the action figure on the ground and stood up. Then Casey took the small item out of his pocket.

"No you don't," Casey added. Koumori then turned to Casey, his usually cheerful face now traced with anger and frustration. Before Koumori could reply angrily, Casey held up the USB that he managed to remember to grab right before he and the others left for the lair. "You want to know what is in this little guy."

"Is that…" April asked as Donnie gasped, who had finally lifted his head up. Casey nodded.

"Yeah, it's the thing that Bishop was bribing us with," he informed her. When Casey and the turtles arrived at the lair, they immediately told April and Master Splinter about Bishop and his bargain.

While both of them reacted to the news with both alarm and confusion, April was more confused than alarm. She immediately wanted know what was in the USB but Leo just said it wasn't important and pulled Casey privately away for his stern lecture. _But now we can find out. _

"What is it?" asked Koumori as he pulled on Casey's jeans and peered up at the black and gray USB drive with interested dark brown eyes. Casey smiled at him as he tossed the USB into the air and caught it without looking.

"This is a device called an USB. People can store stuff in this like secret plans or info about somebody," he answered. _Or in this case what item Bishop thinks we want so badly that we would trade April for it. Even though we know that he knows she is half-Kraang and that he will probably do something really horrible to her because of it…_

"Ooo, I want to see what's inside it," said Koumori excitedly.

"Then let's find…" Casey started to say when he got interrupted by someone who had just entered the lab without Casey noticing him.

"No," ordered Leo firmly as he walked right up to Casey and Koumori. "We are not going to betray April no matter what, so there is no point to finding out whatever is in that USB."

"But…" Casey protested as he turned around. He would have said more but he was interrupted by Leo yet again.

"No buts. We are not going to play Bishop's game, and that's it." Casey gripped the USB in frustration, but before he could even think about maybe defying Leo, another person asked a question.

"Is that really your call to make?" April asked coolly. Casey widen his eyes in surprise. April was usually very supportive Leo's decisions, so to see her to question him was quite a rare sight.

"April…" Leo said, who looked like she dealt him a personal blow. Before he could say more, April put up one of her hand.

"Look, I get it. You're concerned for my safety and you don't want to meet Bishop ever again. But, Bishop somehow knows all about me and he wants me for some reason. I think I deserve to at least know what he is willing to trade for me," April explained. "And besides, before we decide not to play it, shouldn't we know what the game even is?"

"And besides, maybe the item is super dangerous and should be taken out of his hands. Without giving him April of course," Casey added, proud of April for making some very good points. For an intense moment, Leo didn't say a word and just looked like he was pondering heavily on the matter. Then he sighed.

"Alright," he consented. Casey and Koumori immediately cheered.

"Sweet, hook it up Don!" exclaimed Casey as he tossed the USB to the purple-masked turtle. Donnie caught it up with one hand and silently inserted it into the USB drive slot. For a brief second, Casey didn't feel quite so elated.

_Donnie would have said 'Right!' or something like that. But instead, he just put the USB into the computer, without a single word. Oh Mikey, you probably had no idea how much Donnie loved you. And heck, how much I did. _Shaking his head to get rid of his emotional and depressing thoughts, Casey walked over till he was behind Donnie and looking at the computer.

"Alright, it's up," commented April, who was now beside Casey as Donnie clicked on the newly imported file.

"So what's in the USB?" asked Koumori, who had transformed into his bat form and was now perched on April's shoulder.

"Let's see…" said April as Donnie's screen became filled with white words with background that was completely black, except for a seal on the top right corner that had an eagle perched on top of a triangle with the Earth inside. The words 'Earth Protection Force' were on top of the circular seal, as well as the initials, E.P.F. on the bottom of the seal. _E.P.F…isn't that the name of that group of guys that saved me and Raph during the Kraang invasion? _Then April cleared her throat and began to read.

"The Dimensional device, a.k.a the Inkheart gun…"

"Inkheart? Isn't that the name of a book?" asked Leo, who was peering at the computer screen beside his now youngest brother.

"Yes now shush," answered April before she continued. "The Inkheart gun is made up of some leftover Kraang technology with human technology, thus making a unique and valuable device. The Inkheart gun has the function to send a target to another and random dimension, all with just a collision of its laser."

"Oh no," Leo said softly. "We should have picked up all the leftover Kraang tech while we had the chance." Though he didn't say anything, Casey completely agreed since he didn't like the idea of the guy who killed Mikey owning such a device. _Is that why he thinks we would willingly trade April for it? Because he knows that we can't trust him with that?_

"Also, in order to avoid a rip in the fabric of time and space, when the Inkheart gun teleports the target to an alien dimension, a subject from that same alien dimension will take the target's place on our world," continued April. "Oh my gosh…that's how you guys saved New York…you had the Kraang and the humans exchange places..."

Looking very apprehensive, Leo just nodded as Donnie just gulped, his brown-red eyes full of fear as he scrolled down the long page of words. Casey didn't blame them, since his own stomach was twisting like a hungry python. _They were able to save New York because Donnie and Rockwell's brains, but even they needed an open portal. But this gun doesn't need one? Now I really don't like the idea of them having such a thing._

"E.P.F. plans for this device are to study the aliens that are exchanged with the teleported Earth inhabitants, as well as have the inhabitant explore and learn the alien world as much as possible. Once E.P.F. is done with the alien life form, they will use the Inkheart gun and send it back to its home-world, so that the Earth inhabitant can be teleported back to Earth and tell E.P.F. what he has learned," April said, finishing the rest of the file in one shot.

"Okay, what is a gun?" asked Koumori a second after April stopped reading.

"It's a dangerous weapon that normally kills people, except for this one," explained Leo, fierce determination in his voice as he swiftly walked to the other side of Donnie's desk. "But that does not make this gun any less dangerous, and imagine what Bishop could do with it!"

"Right!" Casey exclaimed with enthusiastic fist pump. "It cannot stay in his hands!" _If he could kill Mikey for no reason at all, then he will definitely hurt that poor teleported alien that he claims that he will just 'study'. And who knows what he will do with the info he gains on the alien world…_

"We just need to know where his base is and figure out a way to sneak in and steal the Inkheart gun without anyone getting hurt or April getting…"

"Oh my…" April interrupted Leo with a gasp. "Could it be…" Surprised, Casey looked to April to find that she had commandeered the mouse from Donnie was using it to navigate the page.

"What is red?" Casey asked, not knowing what to make of April's sudden change in behavior. When moments before she was apprehensive and alarmed, she was now…hopeful.

"C'mon…C'mon…Ah ha!" exclaimed April victoriously, still slightly bent over the blushing and confused Donnie. Casey couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy along with his bewilderment. _Don't get used to it Donine ole boy. She is just excited over something, and that's it. Nothing more._

"April, what is…" Leo managed to say before April interrupted him yet again.

"You guys said that Mikey's body just disappeared right?" Casey flinched at April's sudden abruptness to a very sensitive and raw topic.

"Yes…" said Leo, wearing a grieved expression on his emerald green face.

"And I found Koumori as a bat that very same night, who can change from a talking bat to a human. Retro-mutagen has no effect on him and he says he came from a place with a name I have never heard of," continued April.

"Okay, what does that have to do with…" Then Leo gasped, the grieved expression suddenly changing into a hopeful one. "You mean..." Even though Leo didn't say anything more than that, April just nodded, like she could read his mind. Casey was confused at first, but then the realization that had struck Leo and April had struck him as well.

_Mikey was hit by a gun…a gun that emitted a laser. And then, with no explanation whatsoever, Mikey just disappeared. Could it be…that the gun was Inkheart gun? Could it be that Koumori, the kid who hardly knows anything about New York City or modern technology, the kid whose parents we cannot seem to find…is from another world? Could it be that he replaced Mikey? Could it be that Mikey…that Mikey is alive?!_

Obviously realizing the same as him, Donnie with a desperate hopeful expression, took the mouse back from April and click on one of the two links beside the several paragraphs of information on the gun. The link called image.

As the image pulled up, Casey's throat began to clog with hopeful anticipation. His hands becoming clammy with nervousness, Casey hoped with all his heart that Mikey was indeed alive. Casey wanted to see Mikey's cheerful smile again, wanted him to play pranks on Raph, wanted to see him fight with his nun-chunks again, and wanted to skate with him again on the rooftops.

Then the image finally finished uploading. The image was a big black gun with red lines streaking along its sides like two lightning bolts. His heart pounding, Casey gulped as he turned to Leo and Donnie, both of whom were now gazing at the screen with completely unreadable expressions.

"Is that…it?" Casey asked softly, afraid that if he spoke any louder his hopes will dash to the ground. Then Leo turned his face away from the computer screen and faced Casey and April, tears in his eyes.

"It is," Leo replied with a growing smile as the tears of complete joy fell down his cheeks. "IT IS!" At that moment, Casey's heart erupted out his chest painlessly and joyfully and he felt like he could fly off the ground and soar to the air, utterly gleeful that his hopes hadn't been so desperate after all. He also felt himself lose all control of his actions and words due to complete and utter euphoria, but Casey didn't care. Because never before in his young life had Casey felt this wonderful, relieved, and happy.

"HALLEJUAH!" screamed Casey at the top of his lungs as he hugged a joyfully crying and gleefully laughing April, and swung her around and around, her feet high in the air. "HE'S ALIVE! MIKEY IS ALIVE!"

**YAY! And about time to! But beware, this fanfic is nowhere over! But now things have turned around, right? :) In any case, I will update as soon as I can. Till then, please update and have a great time doing whatever it is you do!**


	11. Chapter 11

**I am so so so so so so SOOOOOOO sorry that it took me so long to update! But I kind of had a strange writing slump (that and the fact I was busy also) but now I am back! For good (I hope)!**

**Guest: :)**

**I don't own TMNT. And only Koumori partly.**

"He's alive Donnie!" cried the purple-masked turtle's older brother as he pulled Donnie off of his chair and hugged him joyfully. "Our brother is alive!" His heart fully healed and his spirit feeling as light as air, Donnie hugged Leo back joyfully back. _Mikey really didn't die that night. He just got teleported to another dimension, and we are going to get him back. We are going to get our living baby brother back! _

"Woo-hoo!" cried April happily as Casey finally stopped spinning her around. "I can't believe it! My hunch was right! I was right!"

"Yay, no one is sad anymore!" exclaimed Koumori as he kept on flying around excitedly in the air above them. Leo and April laughed in agreement as Donnie smiled, showing most of his teeth. Donnie then stopped hugging Leo and ran to one of his best friends, Casey. _I never thought I could feel this happy again…but I am._

"You got that right bud!" exclaimed Casey with a laugh as Donnie and high fived/three each other. "You got that right!" As Leo and April hugged each other, Donnie was so full of euphoria that he began to laugh hysterically, a few tears of joy and relief falling down his face. And he didn't want to stop laughing either.

For two long weeks, he had felt like he was trying to hold up a ten-ton boulder while also trying to walk with several, very long and heavy metal chains tied around his legs. But now the boulder and chains were gone, freeing Donnie from two horrible burdens. And since Donnie had a feeling he still couldn't talk yet, he at least wanted to laugh hysterically to celebrate the fact that his dear brother was still alive.

"What happened?" exclaimed Master Splinter as he and Raph rushed into the lab, their faces etched with great confusion.

"Yeah why…are you guys so happy?" asked Raph, sounding very bewildered. _That's right…they don't know…they don't know that Mikey isn't dead!_

"Mi…" said Koumori, who had finally rapidly flying around the room and was now flying in a stationary position right above April.

"Wait Koumori, we have to tell them the story from the beginning so else they won't believe it!" April happily interrupted the little bat.

"Okay!" exclaimed Koumori as he transformed back into a boy. Not having the ability to fly anymore, Koumori fell right into April's open arms, who then lovingly held him tight as she pecked him on the cheek.

"Wha…" Master Splinter started to say when Leo of all people interrupted him excitedly.

"So we decided to look what was on the USB drive Bishop gave us…"

"And we found out that they had a gun that doesn't kill, but can teleport people to different dimensions with lasers," continued Casey, who was beginning to sound like he had two big cans of Red Bull.

"And have someone from that other dimension replace them here on Earth," added Leo like he couldn't say the good news fast enough.

"Okay, so Bishop has a gun that exchanges people with aliens, how is that a good thing?!" exclaimed Raph, a mixture of bewilderment and frustration in his voice. That is when Donnie just couldn't stay still anymore. He then immediately ran around the rectangular-sized and messy desk and towards his confused older brother.

"Because…" Leo managed to say before Donnie grabbed Raph's hand.

"Hey Donnie, what are you doing?!" exclaimed Raph again as Donnie rapidly pulled him towards his computer. Donnie, still feeling that there was something blocking his words, just smiled and finished tugging his slightly resistant brother when they reached his computer. He then pointed excitedly at the computer screen.

"So what…" Raph never finished his sentence, his eyes wide with shock as he stared at the picture of the gun that they had believed was responsible for killing Mikey. "Is…is that...?"

"Have you seen this gun before Raphael?" asked Master Splinter, who had followed Donnie and Raph and was now looking at the picture on Donnie's computer screen.

"Yeah…it's…the gun that killed Mikey…no," replied Raph with a shake of his head. "No, not kill…it just…teleported him to another dimension! Mikey didn't die! He isn't dead!"

As Raph laughed joyfully in relief, Donnie looked at Master Splinter. For a little while, Master Splinter didn't speak and Donnie couldn't read his face either. Then Hamato Yoshi's face finally crumbled as he whispered the name Michelangelo before placing his hands over his mouth.

"It seems…" he said as tears started to fall out of his eyes. "It seems that the universe didn't deal us an awful hand after all…thank goodness. Oh thank goodness." Donnie couldn't agree with his Father more.

TMNT

"What?! How can you not know about New York City? It's one of the biggest cities in the world!" exclaimed Mikey, absolutely shocked by Usagi's ignorance. _And I thought I didn't know a lot of things…_

"I am sorry Michelangelo-san," apologized Usagi as he scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "I am just not familiar with that name. But…perhaps I know your home by a different name. Is there any other names for it?"

"Hmmm…just the Big Apple and the City of New York I think," answered Mikey as he scratched the top of his bald green head. "Do you know those names?" _Please do, I really got to get home…_

"I am afraid not," replied Usagi, his long white ears drooping with self-condemnation. Mikey felt his hope burn down till it was just a small fire as he hung his head. _I need to get back to my family as soon as possible, but how can I when Usagi doesn't even know about New York and its wonderful pizza…that's it!_

"Wait!" exclaimed Mikey optimistically as he picked his head up energetically. "You may not know what New York City is called, but maybe you know what it looks like!"

"Ah…" Usagi managed to say before the hopeful and enthusiastic Mikey continued.

"Let's see, there is the huge green lady statue called the Statue of Liberty, and a very tall building called the Empire State Building. There are also a whole lot of people, cars, skyscrapers, telephone poles, and bubble gum on the streets. Oh, and we can't forget the subway and sewers underneath New York. And the best part of all, there are a whole lot of delicious pizza restaurants in the best city on Earth."

Feeling satisfied that he had described New York City well, Mikey smiled expectantly at Usagi. To his genuine surprise and shock however, Usagi just looked very confused.

"Cars? Skyscrapers? Pizza restaurants?" Usagi questioned, sounding more and more confused with each question. "What are these things?" Mikey was so stunned that he couldn't even think, let alone respond to Usagi's questions. Then Mikey's brain started to work again.

"What?! You don't even know about those things?! Even pizza," responded Mikey with a small shudder at the end. "Are you from another world or something?!" Then suddenly, a light bulb clicked on in his brain, making everything that had happened to Mikey now make sense. And judging from the look on Usagi's face, Mikey knew that he had realized the truth as well.

"I am not from another world," stated Usagi.

"No," confirmed Mikey. "I am."

**So...what did you think? (I know that this chapter is really short compared to my other chapters, but sometimes chapters just need to be short) Please review/comment/leave some constructive criticism and I will update as soon as I can. Thank you, and have a great day/night!**


	12. Chapter 12

**FINALLY! I WROTE THIS CHAPTER! :) I am so sorry about the wait, really, I am! I just had trouble focusing and I was busy too (work and other things). I just hope that this chapter is worth the wait!**

**First Guest who reviewed: YES! :)**

**Second Guest who reviewed: Why thank you. *blushes in embarrassment* I'm glad that you think so.**

**I don't own TMNT and only Koumori partly.**

"Ahh! How am I supposed to get back home now!" cried a frantic Mikey.

"I…"

"This world has no technology and I don't have a Kraang portal thingy!" continued Mikey as he held his head with both hands. "And my family thinks that I'm dead, so they won't go looking for me either! I'm going to be stuck here forever!" _Without my family…_

"No you are not Michelangelo-san," stated Usagi firmly and sincerely. "Because I know of a way to get you back to your dimension." It took Mikey only a millisecond to fully comprehend him, and only another millisecond to be full of hope again.

"Really? How?!" asked Mikey as he grabbed Usagi's shoulders. "What is it?! Where is it?! Let's go now!" Mikey then tried to get off his makeshift bed only for the humanoid rabbit to push him back down.

"Wait Michelangelo-san! I have yet to tell you how we are going to get you back home," said Usagi as a corner of his mouth lifted upwards a bit, like he was trying not to laugh.

As impatient as he was, Mikey knew that he had to wait if he wanted to know how to get back to Earth. So instead of making another attempt to get off his makeshift bed, Mikey stayed perfectly still and perfectly quiet like he was a five-year-old boy in kindergarten who would get a candy bar if he was good.

"Alright…have you ever heard of the Battle Nexus?" Usagi asked. _Battle Nexus? Hmmm…_

"Nope," Mikey said truthfully. "What is it? A battle tournament or something?"

"No, though a battle tournament does occur there once every year," replied Usagi. "The Battle Nexus is a dimension that connects many dimensions like this one together."

"So…the Battle Nexus is like the grand central station…oh wait you don't know what that is…um…the centerpiece of a jack?" asked Mikey, remembering when he and his brothers used to play jacks when they were little. The happy memory playing through his head made Mikey's heart twitch with pain. _Bros…_

"Um…I do not know what jacks are but yes, you can consider the Battle Nexus as a centerpiece many dimensions together," answered Usagi. "And if we go there and request help from the Battle Nexus' ruler, the Daimyo, then he can send us to your dimension."

"Wait, did you just say us?" asked Mikey, surprised.

"Yes I did," confirmed Usagi. "I have brought you to health, and it is my duty to see that you get safely home." Stunned, Mikey could only stare at Usagi in silence as the rabbit readjusted the band that tied his long ears together. _He found me when I was sick on the riverbank and took care of me till my fever broke. He even tried to search for my family and now he says it is his duty to bring me home…even though that will mean he has to leave his own home. _

"Thank you," said Mikey as he wondered how he could ever repay his new friend. "If it wasn't for you…"

"There is no need to thank me until we have made it all the way to your home," interrupted Usagi as he brushed off Mikey's gratitude with a wave of his hand.

"Well…okay," said Mikey, who didn't know how else to respond to that. "So…since I know how we're getting to my world, can we go now?"

"I am afraid not Michelangelo-san," rebutted Usagi. "As I have said before, you have just gotten over your fever and you need at least a few days to recover. If we go now and you should have a relapse as a result, it could very well spell the end for you."

"But…I have to go back to my brothers as soon as possible!" protested Mikey. "Not only did I leave them in the middle of a fight…they probably think I'm dead! And if they do, then their hearts are all squished and I don't want their hearts to be squished! I want them to be happy!"

For a moment that seemed to fill the air with tension, Usagi stayed silent and had his eyes closed in concentration. _C'mon, let's go! I can't afford to stay here for a few more days! I will be fine, I promise! Please!_ Then finally, Usagi gave his verdict.

"Alright." Then before Mikey could cheer out loud, Usagi put his hand up and continued to talk. "But we will wait until tomorrow morning. If you are well enough then, then we can go back to your family."

Mikey, not entirely satisfied with this answer, was about to open his mouth to protest when he saw the determination in Usagi's eyes. _He's not going to budge…well…I do feel pretty tired. It might be a good idea if I just rest for the rest of the day. _

"Alright," Mikey accepted, even though a tiny part of him wished to leave for home right now. "I can wait for that long." _I hope._

"Good. Now lie back down while I'll make lunch," replied Usagi with a bright smile. Mikey couldn't help but feel a bit frantic as he laid back down on the bed. _It's only lunch time?! I still got a whole half day before I start on the journey home?! Where my brothers are waiting for me, even though they think I'm dead?! I'm not going…no. Take a deep breath. It's going to be okay. I'm going to make it, and so will my brothers. I am tired after all, so the day will definitely past by…_

And before he knew it, Mikey was fast asleep. And he didn't open his eyes till Usagi woke him up for some potato stew.

TMNT

Finally, after a whole half day and night of sleeping, eating, and some chatting, it was morning. And Mikey was able to honestly and happily say that he definitely felt better as well as he was not as tired as yesterday. After they ate and Usagi checked on Mikey's leg wound-which Mikey suspected was part of the reason why he got sick anyway-that he had stitched up two weeks ago, they left the cave.

The sun was bright and there were only a few white fluffy clouds in the sky. As Mikey walked through the green fields with Usagi, he couldn't help but smile at his surroundings. _It's a beautiful day! And not only is it a beautiful day, it's also a great day! I'm finally on my way home! _

It wasn't long till they arrived at Seto, which looked like a scene out of a T.V. show or movie. Instead of skyscrapers, there were just regular-sized buildings built in an ancient Japanese style. Instead of cars, there were horses or oxen pulling wooden carts behind them. Instead of supermarkets that are filled to the brim with food and fridges to keep some of the food cool, there were outside markets with only ice to keep the perishables cool.

But the most amazing thing in Mikey's bright blue eyes was the fact that there were no humans. There were anthropomorphized rhinos, cats, dogs, and pandas wearing clothes and walking around like it was normal, but Mikey didn't see any humans at all.

"I really am in another dimension," said Mikey in wonder. "I haven't see a single human so far."

"That is because there are no humans in my world," informed Usagi.

"Whoa," gasped Mikey. _So there really aren't any humans in this world…wait…_

"If there aren't any humans here, then how come you know what one is?" asked Mikey, fully curious.

"That is because there are humans in the Battle Nexus," explained Usagi. "Such as the Daimyo and his son."

"Ah," said Mikey in understanding as they walked on the dirt-clad road. "I get it now. Because you have been there before, right?"

"Yes, as a spectator for the tournament since I was too young to enter," said Usagi as he took a left turn, with Mikey following close behind. "But not this year. This year, I am finally old enough to fight in the tournament with honor and to show everyone that I am indeed skilled."

"Wow," said Mikey in amazement. Then that amazement slowly but surely turned into curiosity and a bit of impatience. "So…how far away is the portal to the Battle Nexus?"

"Oh, there isn't a specific place for the portal," answered Usagi. "You can do the ritual to open the portal anywhere."

"What?! Then why didn't we do it back at the cave?!" exclaimed Mikey loudly with frustration. The nearby citizens of Seto looked at Mikey with disapproval and curiosity but Mikey didn't care. _What is the point of going to Seto if I could have been well on my way to my grieving family about an hour ago!_

"Because even though I have been to the Battle Nexus a couple of times, I have yet to memorize the ritual," explained Usagi with amazing patience. "So we are going to the one person that knows it."

"Oh," said Mikey, calmed down now. "Sorry that I yelled."

"You are good Michelangelo-san," Usagi as he accepted Mikey's apology with a nod of his head. "I understand, you are terribly worried about getting back to your family." _You have no idea…man, I hope that they are okay. No, of course they are okay! And they will definitely be okay when they see that I am alive!_

"Here we are," said Usagi as he suddenly stopped and faced to the right. Mikey quickly stopped as well and turned his body till he was facing in the same direction Usagi was. And what he saw made him gasp with wonder.

Unlike the other houses and buildings in Seto, this building was so big that it had to be a mansion. It was surrounded by tall and thick stone walls and a black iron gate with ten black pointy spires. Through the gate, Mikey could also a part of what seemed to be a luscious and beautiful flower garden, completed with a stone-paved path. _This is the most fanciest, beautiful, and richest place I have ever seen..._

"What is this place?" said Mikey, a bit breathless with awe.

"This is the house of the Lord and the Lady of the Kurasawa clan," answered Usagi as he grinned in response to Mikey's admiration. "Lord Kyou and his Lady Tomoko."

**Ooo...this is going to be interesting ;) So, what did you think of this chapter/story so far? Please review and I promise to update by Monday. I PROMISE! Till then, happy reading :)**


	13. Chapter 13

**I wrote it in time! Barely, but I did it! Yay me! I just hope you like it :)**

**Guest: Thank you! :)**

**I don't own TMNT. And only Koumori partly.**

After Mikey and Usagi were let into Lord Kyou's premises and to the front door by two mole-like guards, two cat servants then led them to the reception room where they have now been waiting forever. At least, that what it seemed like to Mikey as he and Usagi waited alone in the big and long room where the only chair was plaited in silver and looked like a small throne.

_Wait, it __is__ a throne…it must belong to Lord Kyou and that is where he listen to the people's complaints and requests like in the movies. Oh man…what if he doesn't like the way we request how to get to the Battle Nexus? Or even worse, what if he doesn't like our request at all?! What if he sends us to the dungeon where we spend the rest of our days only eating rotten stale bread and drinking the raindrops that manage to get through our small barred window?!_

"Do not worry Michelangelo-san," comforted Usagi with a smile, noticing the nervous expression on Mikey's face. "Lord Kyou is a kind and honorable ruler. He will grant our request, I have no doubt about that. Though…it might be best that I do the talking. He is going through a hard trial and probably very sensitive at the moment."

Before Mikey could ask him what he meant by that, the great mahogany door to the right of the silver throne opened. Right after two more mole-like guards enter the room, Usagi had quickly pushed his back down. _Hey...oh yeah, he's a Lord, so I have to bow or else he'll get mad! Then I will never get home! _ So Mikey obediently kept on bowing, his arms pinned to his sides just like Usagi.

"Welcome Usagi-san and Usagi's friend," said a kind yet very tired voice. When Mikey saw Usagi straighten himself up, Mikey straightened himself up as well, curious to see what kind of animal Lord Kyou. What he saw made Mikey's bright blue eyes go wide in surprise.

"Thank you for receiving Lord Kyou," said Usagi gratefully to the small black bat wearing a small gold pendant with a ruby in the center. He also had fangs that surpassed his chin and he was currently sitting on the red cushion that was on the seat of the silver throne. The two mole guards were now standing silently still by his throne, one at each side. _The Lord…_

"There is no need to thank me Usagi-san, you are welcome anytime," replied Lord Kyou. "And so is any friends of yours." _Is a bat. A tiny bat. With big fangs. I don't know whether to laugh or to scream vampire bat…_

"And speaking of friends, what is your name young turtle?" continued the bat Lord.

"Um…Hamato Michelangelo sir," said Mikey, choosing his words very carefully. _I have to be very careful…Usagi said he is nice but he also said that he could be very sensitive right now. And if I want to go home, I can't mess up! Which means, no laughing or screaming at the top of my lungs._

"Nice to meet you, Michelangelo-san," said Lord Kyou with a tip of his head. "And I must say, you are the first one of your kind that I have ever met. Are you and the rest of your turtle kind strong?"_ So are mutant turtles rare here too? Oh wait, there aren't any mutants here, Usagi told me they were all born like this. So are human-like turtles rare here then? I have to ask Usagi about that later._

"Yes, me and my brothers are super strong!" exclaimed Mikey cheerfully even though he was still a bit uneasy. _Though…I'm not as strong as Leo, Raph, and Donnie. _

"Well…" Mikey started to correct himself when he was suddenly interrupted by Lord Kyou.

"Excellent. Do you mind if I suck your blood?" It took a second for Mikey's brain to fully comprehend that.

"Ahh! No way hosay! I like my blood to stay inside of me thank you!" cried Mikey as he stepped backwards a couple of steps and hugged himself, like that would protect him from the Japanese Feudal Lord. "So please stay away from me, vampire bat!"

"Now now Michelangleo-san," said Usagi with his hands up, like he was trying to calm Mikey down. "There is no need to panic…"

"No need to panic?! He's trying to kill me!" exclaimed Mikey, feeling very afraid for his life. _I don't want my blood to be all sucked out! And I can't die! I got to get back to my brothers, Father, and friends!_

"But I don't want to kill you," said Lord Kyou. "I forgot to add thatI only wanted to suck a tiny bit of your blood so that I can transform into a turtle."

"Wha…?" asked Mikey, who stopped freaking out and was now totally confused and bewildered.

"Lord Kyou, as well as his family, has the ability to transform into a creature of any kind as long as he swallows a tiny bit of blood of that kind of creature," explained Usagi. "For example, if he were to suck only a bit of your blood, he will have the ability to turn into a turtle. He will look different from you personally, but he will be a turtle just the same."

"Oh," said Mikey bluntly, still a bit confused but had still gotten the gist of it.

"I'm sorry for not explaining that to you before I asked if I could suck a tiny bit of your blood," apologized Lord Kyou. "I guess staying up till the wee hours of the morning for the last two weeks can mess up your manners a bit."

"You stayed up really late for two whole weeks?! How are you even alive?!" exclaimed Mikey, totally forgetting that he was creeped out by the bat a minute ago.

"I don't know, and my dear wife doesn't know either," admitted Lord Kyou. "All I know is that I can't rest till I have found my son."

"Your son is missing?" asked Mikey softly, the Lord's words striking a cord within him.

"Yes, I turn my back for one second to pick an apple from the darn tree in that darn apple orchard and when I turned around, he was gone. There were just some green sparkles from where I last saw him," answered Lord Kyou, his voice heavy with emotion as he explained the disappearance of his son. "That's why I wanted to suck a bit of your blood and have the option to become a turtle. I need to become stronger...so I can save my son from whatever or whoever has befallen him."

Mikey didn't speak as he gazed at the heart-wrenching expressions of the small but powerful bat Lord. _Is…is this what Master Splinter is feeling right now? What Leo, Raph, and Donnie are feeling? What April and Casey are feeling? Or are they hurting even worse since unlike Lord Kyou, they're probably think I'm dead? I…I have to stop them from hurting like this! But…even though he creepily wanted to suck my blood…I don't want him to hurt like this either._

"Green sparkles?" asked Usagi. "Wait a minute…Lord Kyou. Did you not say that Koumori disappeared two weeks ago?"

"Yes I did," confirmed Lord Kyou. "Why?"

"Because I found Michelangelo-san two weeks ago, sick and nearly drowned in the same river that runs through the apple orchard," explained Usagi. "And he was suddenly and inexplicitly sent away from his home by some magical weapon."

"Wait," said Mikey, who had a feeling where Usagi was going with this. "Are you saying that my disappearance from my world is connected to his son's disappearance?"

"You are from another world Michelangelo?" asked Lord Kyou in surprise.

"Yes he is my Lord," answered Usagi. "That's why we are here, to ask if you could teach me how to open up a portal to the Battle Nexus so I could assist Michelangelo-san in returning to his home-world. And…there is the distinct possibility…that Koumori could be there as well. It could be just a coincidence that Michelangelo arrived at around the same time as Koumori disappeared, but I have a feeling that is not the case."

For a moment that filled the air with tension, Lord Kyou was silent. Mikey couldn't help but gulp in response. _If Usagi is right…and Lord Kyou's son and I did an ole switcheroo…the boy could be in trouble. Especially if Shredder got his hands on him…but maybe my brothers found him. Yeah, let's hope that is the case. _Then out of the blue, Lord Kyou flew upwards and turned into a rabbit dressed in a red kimono with swords at his sash.

"Of course I will Usagi-san, anything for an honorable and trusted friend," said Lord Kyou as he reached into a small brown drawstring pouch tied to his black sash. "And if my young son happens to be in Michelangelo-san's world…"

"I will put it upon myself to bring him home," promised Usagi. Lord Kyou then smiled gratefully as he took out a small piece of chalk from the pouch. Usagi wore an expression that was so sincere and so determined that Mikey couldn't help but look at him in awe. _So not only is he willing to take me all the way home, he is also willing to search for the Lord's son, who may or may not be in my world…what a guy. Wait, did Lord Kyou just say that he was going to teach Usagi how to make the portal?_

"Yes! Thank you so much Lord Kyou! Thank you!" Mikey exclaimed. Unable to control himself, he ran up short amount of stairs to the startled Lord and shook his free hand furiously, total oblivious to the guards giving glares at him as they took a step towards him. "Really, you don't know how much this means to me! My family!"

"I think I can imagine," said Lord Kyou with a smile as he put up a hand, which stopped the guard's protective ascent on the young, happy, and oblivious mutant turtle. "Especially what your family must feel."

Understanding what he meant, Mikey nodded as he let go of Lord Kyou's hand. Lord Kyou then walked to the burgundy colored wall behind him, with Usagi following him. As the Lord drew four arrows, a circle, and other indescribable scribbles on the wall-which Mikey inwardly noted it would have been impossible to do with small bat claws-, Mikey made his mind to do something. _It's still creepy, but…I owe him that much._

"Ah I see now," Usagi said as he nodded in understanding when Lord Kyou was finished drawing. "I think I should be able to do this by myself when I go to participate in the Battle Nexus Tournament."

"Now here comes the chant," said Lord Kyou as he placed the palms of his hands together. He then let out sounds that sound absolutely gibberish to Mikey but he didn't care. Because as soon as Lord Kyou started chanting, the scribbles glowed and something like water suddenly appeared and flowed up from the ground and made an arch above the glowing scribbles. Then the water-like substance covered the markings resulting in a swirling blue portal.

"Whoa…" said Mikey in amazement. "This portal looks even cooler than a Kraang portal."

"While I do not know what a Kraang portal is, I am pleased that you like your passage to your first stop, or second stop if you count here, on your journey home," said Lord Kyou as he transformed back to a bat.

"I will stay here and continue my search for my dear son, in the case he is here after all. Just…thank you for being willing to search my son on top of bring this young ninja home," he continued. "Which is surprising actually, since the last I heard you did not like ninjas."

"What?! You don't like ninjas?!" exclaimed Mikey, shocked and confused. _And how could you not like ninjas?! Us ninjas are cool!_

"Ninjas here for the most part…have a bad reputation," explained Usagi as he shrug his shoulders sheepishly.

"Then why did you save me when you found me by the river? You could have just left me there," asked Mikey, utterly bewildered.

"It would have been extremely dishonorable of me to leave you behind, ninja or no ninja. And besides, once I saw your face, which was full of trustworthiness despite the fact that you were very feverish…I really couldn't leave you there to die in the mud," admitted Usagi. For once, Mikey was left speechless. _I…I have a trustworthy face?_

"I was especially convinced that I was right when I heard mutter about your family in your sleep. You have a big heart Michelangelo-san. Because of that, I will always be willing to help you," continued Usagi.

"Aw…sh…shucks," muttered Michelangelo-san, who felt his face become very hot as he scratched behind his neck. "You…wait. I _talk_ in my _sleep_?!"

"You did have a fever. It happens," said Usagi with a grin, like he was trying not to laugh at Mikey's reaction. _Oh gosh…what exactly did I say?_

"Um my friends…have we forgotten something?" asked Lord Kyou patiently.

"Ah yes, the portal. Thank you again Lord Kyou," said Usagi as he faced the Lord and bowed.

"Yes thank you again Lord Kyou," said Michelangelo as he bowed as well. Then he took a deep breath. _Well…here goes. _"And if you still want to…you can take a tiny bit of my blood so you can transform into a turtle. After all, we are strong and are great swimmers. Maybe being a turtle will help you find your son." Lord Kyou looked speechless for a moment before his black eyes became blurry with grateful tears.

"Oh thank you…thank you so much!" exclaimed Lord Kyou happily as he flew towards Mikey, who had straightened himself up. "I need any help I can get, so this is very much appreciated! And don't worry, it will hardly hurt." _Well…at least he said it wouldn't hurt at all._

Mikey then bravely put out his right index finger which Lord Kyou rapidly bit into like Mikey eating pepperoni, jalapenos, and jelly bean pizza, which was his favorite of all time. Mikey winced, but he had to admit Lord Kyou was right when it said it hardly hurt. And before he knew it, Lord Kyou unlatched himself from Mikey's finger and flew backwards a few feet.

"Thank you so much Michelangelo-san," said Lord Kyou gratefully as he tipped his head towards Mikey. Then he tipped his head towards Usagi, who had straightened up by now. "And thank you too Usagi."

"As you said, anything for a friend," said Usagi. Then he turned to Michelangelo.

"Let us go Michelangelo-san. Your family awaits us." Without another word, Usagi stepped out of the way, and with a wave of his hand, motioned Mikey to go first. Mikey looked at the smiling Lord Kyou, tempted to ask him to turn into his new acquired turtle form. But Mikey knew that there was no more time to be wasted. His family needed him, and they needed him as soon as possible.

Giving his new bat friend one last friendly smile, Mikey faced the portal and quickly walked towards it. _I'm halfway there guys. Just hang on for a little longer, because I will be there soon. I promise. _Then Mikey walked through the portal.

**So that is the mystery behind Koumori's abilities:) I wonder how Donnie and the others are going to react to that little fact...well, I guess we will all find out in the next chapter. Which will probably be tomorrow. Or Wednesday. Till then, please review (so I can become a better writer) and have a great day/night!**


	14. Chapter 14

**I wrote this just in time. YAY!**

**I don't own TMNT. Just Koumori partly.**

"So that's why Bishop believes we would be willing to give him April. That gun is the only way we have to get Mikey back," stated Leo. In response, Casey sighed and bit his lip. After their brief celebration, they were quickly brought back down to Earth when Master Splinter stated that even though Mikey was alive, he was still on another dimension.

_Too bad all the Kraang portals disappeared when the turtles sent the Kraang packing. But then, we don't even know which dimension Mikey got sent to. So, we would have had to rely on the Inkheart gun no matter what. _Casey, who was fingering his belt absentmindedly, then knew that there was only one course of action that had to be taken.

"Then, what we waiting for?" asked Casey as he took his hockey stick that was strapped to his back and swung it in front of him. "Let's invade the base and steal the gun." _Because there is no way that we are not going to get Mikey back. But there is no way that we are sacrificing April…absolutely no way._

"Whoa Casey! We need a plan first!" exclaimed Leo as he put his hands up.

"I got us a plan Leo. Go to the base, beat up Bishop and his men till they are all black and blue, and then take the gun and used it on Koumori. Koumori will go home and we will get Mikey back," listed Raph fiercely as he whipped out his sai.

"We can't do that!" exclaimed April. Casey widen his eyes in surprise. _April mourned for Mikey terribly too and she was extremely happy when we found that he was only in a different dimension. What's going on?_

"What do you mean we can't do that?! Don't you want Mikey back?!" exclaimed Raph, almost yelling at the girl Casey liked.

"Hey, keep it down! Of course she wants him back!" intervened Casey as Donnie also intervened by placing a hand on Raph's shoulder. Casey then turned to April, a bit uneasy and wanting assurance. "Though…why did you say that?"

"Because we can't just fire the gun at Koumori!" answered April as she held the little boy close to her. "If we do, we will have no idea of knowing if he is safe with his parents or not! For all we know, we could be sending him to an area infested with volcanoes!"

"I am afraid April is right my son," said Master Splinter, suddenly very solemn. _Wait, why is he so sad? So we have come across a problem since we don't want Koumori to melt in lava…_Then Casey got it. As a result, he gasped and gripped his hockey stick tightly. _If we end up sending Koumori to a very dangerous volcano ring of fire, or into any danger at all…that means Mikey was there…_

Silence filled the air for a moment. When Casey looked at the turtles and April's fearful faces, he knew that they had come across the same realization as well. Casey bit his lip again. _No…Mikey is still alive. He has to be…I don't want to go back to feeling that way again…I just can't…_

"It's okay, I'm tougher than a volcano," said Koumori, the only one in the group who wasn't solemn or fearful at all. Koumori had his fists up like he was going to fight the hypothetical volcano and his dark brown eyes were full of self-confidence. Casey couldn't help but feel a bit envious. _He's lucky…he's too young to understand that the world can be really cruel yet…_

"Koumori…I'm afraid…that isn't the only problem," said April in a really gentle tone.

"What other problems are there?" asked Koumori like he believed there really shouldn't be any other problems.

"Well… if there is the possibility that Mikey could…could be in a dangerous situation right now, then it is also possible that you didn't trade places with him, like we believed," informed Leo, if not a bit painfully.

"Wait…are you saying that Koumori might not be from another world after all?!" exclaimed Casey, who felt despair trying to break into his heart. "That if we capture the gun and used it on Koumori, that he will actually just leave his home-world and an alien that we don't know will take his place?! Instead of Mikey?!" Leo just closed his eyes and nodded.

"But...everything just lines up! I found Koumori the night Mikey disappeared, retro-mutagen doesn't work on him…" protested April as she put Koumori down on the ground.

"And yet it could all be just coincidence," interrupted Master Splinter firmly but without gently. "And we all aware that the retro-mutagen didn't cure my daughter from being a mutant."

"Why would you want her to stop being a mutant?!" exclaimed Koumori, sounding very alarmed. "Being able to transform is awesome!" _Koumori…_

"Because she wasn't always able to transform," April explained. "She used to be just a normal human girl. Then she fell into some mutagen, the green ooze I told you about, and it change her into…a big snake. And even though she does have the ability to transform back into a girl, she is slowly…forgetting who she is because she is still a mutant."

"You mean…she wasn't born with the talent of turning into a snake? And that's what makes her mutant?" asked Koumori. _Bingo._

"Yes," confirmed April with a nod.

"Oops, then I think I lied," admitted Koumori.

"What do you mean, you think you lied?" asked Raph, anger lacing his words as he narrowed his green eyes at the kid. _Uh oh…_Then, before Casey could do anything to calm Raph down before he let it loose, Koumori explained himself.

"Because I was born a bat. And I could always change into any form. I just have to bite somebody from that form. And I got my gift from Papa and Mama." For what seemed like forever, no one spoke because of shock and bewilderment.

"What?" Leo finally asked, sounding like he was still shocked and bewildered.

"Here, I show you," said Koumori. Without any warning, Koumori went up to Leo and bit his index finger.

"Ow!" exclaimed Leo as he on instinct pulled his finger away from the boy.

"Koumori!" cried April in her discipline voice as Donnie immediately went to Leo and inspected the bite.

"What the heck?!" Casey cried, unable to believe his eyes as Koumori just calmly closed his eyes like he was going to concentrate.

"Wha…" Raph said angrily. Casey knew he would have said or yelled more if one of the most astonishing things to ever happen in Casey's life, perhaps in all of their lives, happened.

At one moment, Koumori was just a regular oriental four-year-old human boy. Then before Casey could even blink, Koumori was suddenly not a human anymore. He was a small mutant turtle boy with dark green skin and a flawless shell and plastron. His unmasked face was full of freckles and when he opened his eyes, Casey saw that they were still a dark brown.

"See? I can take any form I want," said Koumori proudly. "I always could, and I always will." That's when everything finally sunk in. _Koumori…really is an alien. And…he can transform into anything…as long as he sucks some blood…_

"Koumori's a vampire!" Casey nearly screamed as he lifted his hockey stick into the defensive position.

"Vampires exist?!" Raph cried as he took a few steps backward, sai still in his hands. "This is just too freaky!"

"Guys, calm down!" exclaimed April angrily as she rushed towards Koumori and stood in front of him, like she was protecting him from Casey and everyone-else. "Koumori is not a vampire! Vampires don't transform into mutant turtles!"

"Calm down? Calm down?! April, he just suck my blood from my finger!" cried Leo as showed off the very same finger. "In whatever way you look at it, Koumori's ability is just creepy!"

"I know," stated Koumori cheerfully, like nobody was freaking out or Donnie was just staring at him with a gaping mouth. "Everyone thinks so when they first find out. Even if they are too chicken to say it."

"See?! He admits it!" Casey exclaimed to April as he pointed at the little boy.

"That is enough!" Immediately at the sound of their sensei's voice, everyone shut their mouths up and look sheepishly at Master Splinter. While Master Splinter was not furious, it was obvious just by looking at his face that his patience was completely gone. Which meant that he was not to be trifle with at the moment.

"Look," Master Splinter continued with sighed. "I know that we all have been through a lot tonight, and that Koumori…breaking Leo's private bubble might have been a last straw, but that is no reason to yell and call him a vampire." _Private bubble? That's putting it lightly…_

"I'm sorry Sensei," Leo immediately said as he bowed to his Father. Then he bowed to Koumori. "I'm sorry if I hurt you Koumori."

"I wasn't hurt Leo. And I'm sorry that I scared you," forgave Koumori. "Even though you guys' reactions were funny."

"Oh my gosh. This kid is a friggin sadist," Raph muttered. Casey risked a snide glance at Master Splinter, who luckily hadn't heard Raph. _Or if he did, he's not going to comment on it._

"I just wish that guy who wore…who wore…oh, the sunglasses at nighttime along with a black coat got scared too when I bit him," added Koumori. _Wait…a man with a black coat and wears sunglasses at nighttime? He can't mean…_

"Bishop," Raph said softly, stunned. Then Leo quickly kneeled down so that he was face to face with now mutant turtle.

"When did you meet this guy?" Leo asked, his voice calm yet edged with hope.

"On the night I came here," Koumori answered. "One minute I was eating an apple over the river, and the next minute, this leader and his men were chasing me! I didn't even have time to ask what was wrong with you guys or ask you for help."

"You…you saw us that night?" asked Leo, sounding and looking completely stunned. He looked up and share a stunned and pained look with his brothers. _Koumori…was there when Mikey disappeared…_

"Uh-huh," confirmed Koumori. "And even though I was flying very very fast, he still kidnapped me! So I bit him and escaped. Then later, I changed into a human because I drank his blood." When Koumori was done telling his story, Casey looked at the others. What he saw mirrored what he was feeling at that moment.

There was absolutely no doubt anymore. Koumori was an alien. And he was the one who had exchanged places with their Mikey. Even though the possibility that Koumori wasn't the alien that traded places with Mikey was now gone, Casey didn't feel totally relieved.

_Mikey could still be…in trouble and if we exchanged him with Koumori, Koumori could be the one in trouble. And even though he has a bit of a creepy ability, he ain't a bad kid. I don't want him to be in danger. But he is in danger here because of Bishop and besides, I want Mikey back. So what do we do?_

TMNT

Leo splashed water on his face, like that would relieve him of the problems weighing on his mind. After Koumori proved that he was indeed the alien that traded places with his baby brother, April pointed out that Bishop since once tried to capture Koumori, he will tried to do so again.

This valid point made everyone even more nervous. As a result, Master Splinter wisely stated Koumori will probably be safe as long as he is in his human form. When this calmed them somewhat, Master Splinter told Leo and his brothers to go to bed and told April, Casey, and Koumori to go home. When Raph started to protest, their Sensei just firmly told him that it was really late and that they couldn't solve anything tonight. So with that, the turtles started to get ready for bed and April and Casey, along with a now human Koumori, went to the topside.

Leo looked at his reflection in the mirror and sighed. While he knew that his Father was right, the eldest turtle doubted that he could sleep tonight. There were just too many questions and anxieties running through his brain.

_Why does Bishop want April? Why does he want Koumori? Why would he request for April when he could have requested for us to give him Koumori? Is it because he knows we will not be able to get Mikey back if we give him Koumori? So is he willing to give up 'studying' Koumori and the gun so that he could 'study' April instead? If he wanted to get knowledge on alien worlds, why use the gun on Mikey, and not one of his men? Was Mikey just…just a test subject or something?! And if we do manage get the gun without anyone else dying or getting captured, how do we get Mikey back without worrying for Koumori's safety? Will we actually get Mikey back? _

At that last thought, Leo roughly shut off the faucet, stopping the flow of water from the spigot. _No! Mikey is alive! He isn't in danger of dying, and we will get him back, safe and sound! We __will__ get him back! We will get our baby brother back, and get Koumori safely back to his home in the process! Everybody will be happy again, and Donnie will speak again! We have to succeed! We absolutely have to…_

That's when Leo's phone rang. Surprised and wondering who will call him this late at night, Leo took his t-phone off his belt and saw the picture i.d. on the screen.

"Casey? What does he want?" muttered Leo as he accepted the call. "Casey, wha…"

"Leo!" cried a frantic Casey. "We're under attack!"

**Uh oh...this ain't good. At all. What will happen next?! Read the next chapter to find out! Which may or may not on Friday or Saturday, depending on much people want the next chapter. So till then, please review and have a good night/day!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Sorry for the looong wait (work and stuff happened) but I am here now! And I hope you like it!**

**I don't own TMNT. And only Koumori partly.**

"What?" Leo blankly asked, his now-frantic heart skipping a beat. "By who? Where are you?!"

"About two blocks or so away from the sewer entrance we usually take!" answered Casey a bit breathlessly. The question of why Casey was breathless was answered when Leo could make out the sounds of fighting from the phone. Then before Leo could say or do anything, Casey continued talking.

"I'm not sure, but I think they're Bishops lackeys!" Leo instantly gritted his teeth and made a low growl as he gripped his t-phone tightly. _Bishop…_

"Just hang on! We're coming!" cried Leo as he raced out of the bathroom.

"O…" Then suddenly the line was cut off, leaving Leo to imagine what horrible thing could have happened to his temperamental but loyal friend.

"Casey!" cried Leo. "April! Koumori! Answer me!" When he realized that his desperate attempts were going nowhere, Leo made a small and indescribable noise of fear and frustration. Leo then put his phone back to its place on his belt and ran down the hall.

"Raph! Donnie! Come out! Casey and the others are being attacked!" Leo cried as he reached Raph's bedroom door. In nearly no time at all, Raph rushed out of his bedroom, startled and fear in his green eyes.

"What? By who? Are they okay?!" exclaimed Raph as a scared Donnie rushed out of his own bedroom, which was right next to Raph's.

"By Bishop's lackeys and I don't know!" answered Leo, clearly remembering how Casey was cut off. "But we got to go now!"

"Right, then let's go!" supported Raph as he started to run to the living room, with Leo and Donnie close behind. As they made their way out of the lair, Leo knew only one thing. One thing that was an absolute fact. _Bishop, if you have hurt my friends in any way, it will be the final straw. And I will not be merciful in any way whatsoever._

TMNT

April put up her tessen just in time to stop the Bishop lackey's club from hitting her square in the head. April gritted her teeth as she used what seemed to be all of her strength to push the club back. She then aimed a kick at the man's stomach, causing him to let out a small groan as he flew backwards into some trashcans. To April's relief, he didn't get up.

She bit her lip as she saw that Casey was fighting three lackeys at once, and that there were three more subordinates of Bishop charging at her. It had been several minutes since Casey had called Leo for help, but the turtles had yet to arrive. Not that April didn't have faith that they wouldn't come, but she was still worried.

_They are just as tough, if not tougher, than the Foot ninja. Plus the fact that they took us by surprise, I really don't think we have enough strength to last for much longer. _Then there was a whimper behind her. Despite the men running towards her, April quickly glanced behind her. Koumori was crouching behind the silver trashcan, his head peeking out and his usually curious eyes full of fear.

"Just give up missy, and we won't have to hurt you. Or your two boys," offered a blond-haired lackey as he and his two fellow comrades stopped inches in front of her. The red-haired then fully face the enemy and having been reminded of why she was fighting, April took a deep breath. She then raised her tessen, the fire of determination in her eyes.

"I don't think so!" exclaimed April as she rushed at them and started to fight the three men. _I can't afford to give up, to stop fighting. If the turtles weren't coming and it was just Casey and me, then I would sacrifice myself so that Casey wouldn't get hurt or captured. But, it's not just me and Casey. Koumori is here and he is an alien. And if Bishop knows about Koumori in his human form, then he would have order his men to capture him, regardless of any sacrifice I could make! And I cannot let Koumori fall into the hands of the sick man who took Mikey away from us! I will protect him!_

As April fought them, she noticed that the men will quickly gaining the upper hand in the battle. At the corner of her eye, she saw that the same held true for Casey, who looked really beaten up but kept on fighting in any case. Casey's own determination helped to boost April's as she also kept on fighting, and was resolved to do so till her last breath. _And besides…Donnie and the others will come in time to help us. I know it! We just have to hang on!_

Just as April thought this, one of the lackeys swept her legs out from under her with a low kick. At the same time, the blond-haired lackey forced April to let go of her weapon with a blow from this own club.

"April!" cried Casey in alarm as April landed hard on her back, knocking the wind out of her.

"Leave April alone!" cried Koumori as he stood up, his hands clenched into fists. His short legs were shaking in fear but the wish to protect shown clearly on Koumori's young face as he faced the enemy towering over April.

"No Koumori!" April cried frantically, able to breath properly again. "Run!"

"But he has nowhere to run to," said the blond-haired man as he raised his club. "And neither do you." With those words, he swung his weapon right at April's head. _This is it…I really wasn't able to protect Koumori…_

"NO!" yelled a familiar voice. Then, right before the club touched April's forehead, a stick-like weapon hit the man's right arm, making the man fly sideways and hit the ground painfully. April's eyes grew wide with both surprise and relief as Donatello stood in the place where her attacker once stood, his bo-staff held tightly in his hands as he glared murderously at the blond-haired man.

"And stay the heck away from her!" Donnie growled.

TMNT

"Oh come on, don't be so dramatic. I was only going to knock her out," stated the man as he picked himself up. At the corner of his eye, Donnie saw his two brothers fight the other lackeys that were attacking April, Casey, and Koumori. Which meant that at least for a little while, Donnie could focus on the man who had dared to try to hurt his April.

"Not kill her," the blond-haired lackey continued with a sneer. Donnie's only response to these words was just to narrow his red-brown eyes in fury. If this had happened two weeks ago, Donnie would not have been furious. Angry, yes, but he would not have felt like his body was running on fire and lightening, not on a heart or blood. But then Mikey had disappeared in his arms.

_Because of Bishop...I believed that Mikey was dead for two long weeks. Even when we learned that Mikey was alive, we can't get him back right away because of Bishop. And now because of Bishop, April, as well as Casey and Koumori, were put into danger. I have had enough!_

"Knocking her out will still cause her pain!" cried Donnie. "Pain that I will never let you or Bishop give her!" Donnie then instantly rushed forward and swung his bo-staff at the sneering enemy.

The man tried to duck, but Donnie was too fast for him. The bo hit the lackey right on the left side of his head, causing a large crack to fill the air as the man landed on his side with a large thud. Then for good measure, Donnie quickly twirled his bo-staff and hit the Bishop lackey in the stomach.

Donnie then patiently stood there for a few moments, wanting to see if the enemy would move again. When it was clear that the man really was unconscious, Donnie then turned to face April.

"You're okay?" he asked the stunned red-haired girl kneeling on the ground beside Koumori who had previously left the shelter of the trashcan. When she silently nodded, Donnie turned around and saw that his brothers and Casey had just finished beating up the rest of the nameless lackeys.

It was only then did the fire and lightening inside of Donnie completely die and he let himself breathe out a sigh of relief. _Thank goodness, we made it in time and we will able to defeat them. Though, why do I feel like I'm forgetting something?_

"Is everyone alright?" called out Leo, concern evident in his voice.

"My body is going to be a bit sore tomorrow, but other than that, I'm good," responded Casey with a thumbs up as he leaned against his hockey stick.

"I'm good too," added Koumori. "And so is April!"

"Good, now we can ask the question, why did Bishop sent his men to attack them?! I thought he was going to wait for us to give April to him!" exclaimed Raph, his usual frustration edging his words.

"I guess he didn't want to wait patiently anymore, even though he only gave us the USB a few hours ago," answered Donnie as he grasped his chin with one hand. "Maybe April, and Koumori as well, should stay in the lair…what?"

Everyone was just staring at him, with dumbfounded expressions and gaping mouths. Donnie narrowed his eyes in confusion. _What did I say…_Donnie immediately gasped in realization as he grasped his throat. _Did I just…talked?_

"I can talk," said Donnie softly before a big smile embraced his face. "I can talk!"

"Yes!" cried Casey with a fist pump as Raph and Leo raced happily towards him. "Donnie got his voice back!"

"It's about time you start talking again!" exclaimed Raph with no malice in his voice whatsoever as he gave his little brother a brotherly hug.

"No kidding," added Leo as he also gave Donnie a big brotherly hug, a big smile on his face. "It's great to hear your voice again bro."

"I agree!" exclaimed April as she joined the hug joyfully.

"Yay!" exclaimed Koumori as he did a little dance. "I finally got to hear Donnie's voice! And I like it!" Even though Mikey was still missing and Bishop was trying to kidnap April despite his promise to wait, Donnie couldn't help but smile as he hugged his family back. _I can talk again…and April, Casey, and Koumori are safe. Things really will be fine. Especially once we get Mikey back._

**:) I have no words to say. I will update as soon as I can and till then, please review. It helps motivate me to write even faster. Have a good day/night!**


	16. Chapter 16

**This chapter ended at a different point (more things were supposed to happen) than I expected, but I'm am very happy with how this chapter came out. And I hope that you think so too!**

**I don't own TMNT. And only Koumori partly. As always.**

Mikey looked all around him in wonder. After falling through a swirling blue tunnel, he arrived in a place that would have been completely barren if it wasn't for the few patches of trees and the few oasis. Even then though, the trees had no leaves on them at all and the oasis were small and since Mikey saw a deer-like creature run through one of them, very shallow.

"The Battle Nexus is very impressive looking isn't?" Mikey turned around and saw Usagi standing there, the portal closing behind him.

"Yeah, though I was expecting Battle Nexus to be like a big city or something like that," admitted Mikey as he turned around again. He would have specified that he was expecting a city like Coruscant, but he knew Usagi wouldn't have gotten the _Star Wars _reference. And Mikey didn't feel like explaining what a movie was either.

"But this is cool too," continued Mikey. _It's not very pretty, but there is something about it…that does make it impressive._

"Oh, there is a city. This is just the land surrounding it. Come on, it should not be far at all," said Usagi as he walked ahead of Mikey and turned left.

"Ah, now that makes more sense," commented Mikey happily as he followed Usagi. "After all, if there is an annual tournament here, there needs to be an arena for the competitors to fight in. And of course, the Daimyo can't just live in a tent can he? Especially if he is the leader of this dimension."

"No he cannot Michelangelo-san," stated Usagi as they walked through a patch of trees before suddenly stopping. "And there it is." Mikey, who stopped when Usagi did, couldn't help but gasp at the sight that laid before him. While it was nothing like New York City, there was no doubt in Mikey's mind that the city of Battle Nexus was still very magnificent.

It was in a feudal-style like Seto, but unlike Seto, the city was just a bit bigger and it was surrounded by slanted wooden walls to protect its inhabitants from evil intruders and the wide river that touched the city's right side. The only way to enter the city was by a wooden bridge and through an entrance that was under what looked like to Mikey an armored bull with four horns. The city had its back to a very tall and rocky cliff that had an old man meditating carved into it. And on both sides of the man, there was a beautiful clear blue waterfall that flowed to the river below. There were even two smaller waterfalls that came out of two big spigots that rested on the right side of the wall. Also unlike Seto, there was a big giant building that towered all over the other buildings, making it clear to Mikey that this was the Daimyo's castle.

"Whoa…" said Mikey softly, still in complete wonder. "Now this is impressive." Usagi didn't answer, but he smiled and nodded in agreement. They stood there for a few more moments, just happy to bask in the city's glory.

"Well, should…" Without warning, Usagi suddenly stopped talking and turned around and grabbed something with his right hand. It took Mikey a second to see that Usagi had a silver kunai with a purple ribbon tied to it in his hand. It then only took Mikey another millisecond to realize that the kunai would have plunged into Usagi's back if the rabbit hadn't caught it in time.

"Who threw that?!" exclaimed Mikey as he took out his nunchucks, ready to fight the guy who tried to kill his friend.

"It was me." Then a tall man came out from behind a tree, his really long red ponytail and purple cape flowing behind him and dressed in dark blue, black, and gold warrior garb. On his left hand, he wore a silver metal glove with spiky fingers and two katanas were tied to his back. He also had menacing green eyes, which were the only part of his face that was not covered in a red and weird devil-like mask.

"The Ultimate Ninja," said Usagi, none of his usual warmth in his voice as he narrowed his eyes at the man. _Whoa, he must be a really bad dude if Usagi isn't nice to him at all…but I have to admit, that is a cool name for a bad guy…wait ninja?_

"You recognize that marker Usagi?" asked the Ultimate Ninja as he pointed at the kunai in Usagi's hand.

"Yes I do," answered Usagi, his voice getting ever colder.

"Is he your arch-nemesis Usagi? Is he the reason why ninjas have a bad reputation in your world?" asked Mikey.

"Then you know that you have to fight me, without the aid of your friend, in a duel till there is only one of us left standing," said the Daimyo like Mikey wasn't even there. But Mikey didn't even notice that he was ignored. _Only one of us left standing?!_

"You mean like a death match?!" exclaimed Mikey, a bit of fear creeping into his voice. Even though he had no doubt that Usagi was a talented samurai, there was something about the Ultimate Ninja that put Mikey on edge. It wasn't his cool name, Usagi's behavior towards him, or his weird clothes. It was his manner that alerted Mikey that the Ultimate Ninja was very, very dangerous.

"Yes Michelangelo-san," answered Usagi. "But don't worry, I have no intention of accepting his request." With these words, Usagi tossed the kunai at the Ultimate Ninja's feet.

"Do you not have any honor?!" exclaimed the Ultimate Ninja angrily.

"I do," answered Usagi. "But I have already swore on my honor to get my friend to his home. I do not wish to dishonor myself just to satisfy your pride." Touched and amazed at the same time by Usagi's commitment, Mikey could only stare at the rabbit. _Usagi…_

"Then what about his life? Have you forgotten that if you decline, his life is mine?" asked the Ultimate Ninja slyly. "Or do you really do not care if he dies? After all, it was a ninja that killed your master a few years ago." Mikey almost gasped out loud as he looked at his friend's haunted face. And it wasn't because Mikey was afraid that Usagi might declare his life forfeit.

_Usagi's Sensei…was killed by a ninja? A ninja like me? Oh my gosh…so this is why he doesn't care for ninjas. How…how in the world can he stand me? Let alone save me and be willing to put aside everything just so he can help me reunite with my brothers?_

"Fine," growled Usagi reluctantly. "I accept your challenge." _U…Usagi…_

"Excellent," said the Ultimate Ninja in a pleased tone as he took out a brown item that looked like a thick brown ping-pong paddle with a ball attached to a string connected to each side.

"Are sure you sure about this Usagi?" Mikey asked worriedly as the blasted villain twirled the ping-pong paddle, resulting the balls hitting the sides with some nice hollow clunks. "I mean, I really don't want you to risk your life for mine. Especially after what happened to your Sensei…"

Usagi looked quite speechless for a second before he gave Mikey a warm smile that had the faint trace of sadness. A smile that told an unhappy Mikey that Usagi hadn't changed his mind one bit.

"Don't worry, I won't be dying today," responded Usagi. "And don't feel guilty for what happened to my Sensei. You are definitely not the ninja that took him away from me." Even though he still wore the same smile, there was sincerity and determination in Usagi's voice. The kind of sincerity that was proof to Mikey that everything Usagi had done for him was a true act of friendship and kindness. The kind of determination that told Mikey that he was going to defeat the Ultimate Ninja. Or at least give fight the Ultimate Ninja everything that he has.

"If both of you accept the challenge, come forward." Mikey turned his head at the direction of the new voice and his mouth dropped in surprise. There was now a spirit-like figure sitting in mid-air, wearing a white mask that had two red dots on its cheeks and wearing a strange blue silky top and strange gold silky bottoms. He had a golden hat on his head and he was holding a slimmer version of the Ultimate Ninja's ping pong paddle in his hand.

"Where did he come from?" asked Mikey, still a bit startled at the spirit's sudden appearance. "Who is he?"

"His name is Gyoji, he was summoned by the Ultimate Ninja to be the referee for our match," answered Usagi as he drew his swords and walked towards the Ultimate Ninja. _Oh, so the Ultimate Ninja wasn't just twirling his ping pong paddle because he was crazy…or at least all the way crazy._

"Do you want to fully observe the match?" Gyoji suddenly asked him. The question took Mikey by surprise.

"What?" cried the villain as he stood a few inches away from Usagi. "But…"

"Of course I want to watch!" interrupted Mikey, still bewildered why the referee should ask such a question. "What kind of friend would I be if I wasn't there for Usagi!" _I wish that I could actually help Usagi with his fight, but apparently I can't. The least I can do for him is to at least watch him and support him emotionally!_

"Michelangelo-san…" Usagi muttered as he glanced over to his turtle friend, obviously extremely touched by Mikey's sincere statement.

"Full observance recorded," said the referee with a nod.

"But I…fine! You can observe all you want, but it would not save your friend from his doom!" exclaimed the Ultimate Ninja. Mikey gulped anxiously. _Doom…Usagi is actually putting his life on the line here…for me. _Then with a wave of Gyoji's hand, Mikey was trapped inside a blue but transparent force field. A force field that separated him from his friend and the villain.

"Hey!" cried a startled Mikey as he raced to the force field. He was about to hit it with his nunchuncks when he realized something. "Wait…is this up so that I won't interfere?" When Gyoji nodded, Mikey reluctantly put his nunchuncks back to his belt. _I don't like that I am trapped by a force field while Usagi is about to fight for his life, but I did agree that I wanted to observe his duel. I have to accept the conditions, or else I will lose the right to observe him. And I can't let that happen! _

"Since you are the one who gave out the challenge Ultimate Ninja, you will be the one who decides on the location," stated Gyoji.

"Here is good enough," answered the Ultimate Ninja.

"Then let the duel begin," declared the Gyoji with a flick of his paddle. His heart beating loud and hard with anxiety and anticipation, Mikey watch as Usagi and the Ultimate Ninja raise their swords. For a second, nothing happened as the Ultimate Ninja glared at Usagi with great pride and contempt as Usagi glared back at him with great determination and concentration.

Then before Mikey knew it, both duelists swung their swords at each other. The death match had begun.

**Go Usagi go! You are definitely an honorable rabbit! And Mikey, as usual, you are a loyal friend! So, what did you think about this chapter? I will update soon so till then, please review (with a cherry on top). Have a good day/night!**


	17. Chapter 17

**I updated today! Yes! I think my funk is over!:) Enjoy.**

**I don't own TMNT. And only Koumori partly.**

Usagi gritted his teeth as his swords clashed against his opponent's weapons. Just as he heard, the Ultimate Ninja was indeed a very skilled warrior. For with each one of Usagi's strikes, the Ultimate Ninja would parried it. And for each one of the Ultimate Ninja's strikes that Usagi was able to block, there was so much pressure and force behind it that Usagi was barely able to hold his own.

Luckily for Usagi, he has been able to block all of the villain's offensive moves so far, but just as unluckily, the Ultimate Ninja has been able to block all of his. _We may be at a stale mate for now, but if I don't find an opening soon, the battle just might turn in his favor. And Michelangelo-san would be left alone in a world he is not familiar with…_

Usagi's heart had felt warm when Michelangelo declared that he would stay and watch the match. Instead of just leaving him and going into the Battle Nexus and asking the Ultimate Daimyo to send him home to his family. _And Michelangelo-san loves his family…to think that he values my life enough to put off seeing them sooner…I…I cannot let him down by dying here!_

As soon as he thought this, Usagi saw an opening. Knowing that he could not afford to miss this opportunity, Usagi ducked and with one leg, kicked the Ultimate Ninja's legs out from under him. With a short oof, the Ultimate Ninja fell on his back, creating yet another opening for Usagi. Usagi then jumped towards him, his swords pointing down as he fell. However, the Ultimate Ninja did a back roll which saved him from being defeated by Usagi when the rabbit made his landing.

Right after the villain's back roll, he aimed a kick at the left side of Usagi's head, which the samurai was unable to block. The kick sent Usagi flying to the side till he crashed into a tree.

"Usagi!" the rabbit managed to hear his turtle friend cry out worriedly through the bells ringing in his head. _Michelangelo-san…_Then, even though his brain and head ached, Usagi picked himself up just in time to block a hit from a kusarigama, which the Ultimate Ninja just pulled out. _It is just as I heard, he really is a master of many weapons. But, it is clear to me that he has not humble himself or has gained any respect for his fellow warriors at all from the last time I saw him here at the Battle Nexus. _

Usagi's opponent then began to pull on his kusarigama, which had its hook around Usagi's sword, in an effort to force Usagi to let go of it. However, Usagi saw this move coming and in one swift motion, used one foot to step on the chain, pinning it to the ground. Then with his free foot, he lifted some of the kusarigama's chain upwards and pulled it towards him.

This resulted in the Ultimate Ninja flying forward and being absolutely defensive-less as Usagi hit him upside the head as soon as he was close enough. With a groan, the Ultimate Ninja let go of his kusarigama as he landed hard on the ground a few feet away. _And as Sensei used to say, extreme arrogance and pride will only set a warrior back._

"Yeah! Go Usagi!" Usagi quickly glanced at Michelangelo, who had one hand cupped around his smiling mouth and the other clenched in a fist and raised in the air. Usagi gave a quick and small smile at him before he refocused his mind on the battle. With a flick of his wrist, Usagi unhook the kusarigama from his sword before kicking it away. He then rushed at the masked man, his swords raised to end the battle, to go back to helping his dear friend go home.

Then the Ultimate Ninja reached into his pocket and took out a pile of green dust. Before Usagi could react, his opponent blew onto it, causing the dust to become a cloud and fly into Usagi's face. Usagi was forced to stop as the dust went up his nose and throat and also made it impossible for him to see.

As the rabbit hacked and coughed and rubbed his eyes, he heard the swish of a sword. Usagi instantly moved to the side, despite the fact that he still had his eyes closed and still had trouble breathing. But a searing pain in the left side of his body instantly told him that he did not move fast enough.

"Aaahh!" Usagi yelled in pain as he stumbled backwards and placed a hand on his injured side.

"USAGI!" he heard Michelangelo scream as he felt his hand become wet. Mentally pushing himself through the pain, Usagi opened his eyes and looked down. Though his eyesight was still a bit blurry, he could clearly tell that the Ultimate Ninja's sword had only grazed the left side of his stomach, not pierced it. But the graze was long and blood was flowing steadily from it.

"Your luck is running low rabbit," growled the Ultimate Ninja as he threw five shurikens at Usagi. The samurai instantly raised his swords to block the incoming shurikens. While he managed to successfully block four of the pointy metal weapons, Usagi failed to raise the short sword in his left hand high enough. As a result, he did not block the last shuriken successfully which caused it to leave a small but painful graze on Usagi's right shoulder, instead of missing his body completely.

"Pretty soon Usagi, you will have no choice but to accept your death," said the Ultimate Ninja as he finished putting on a Tekkō-kagi on his right hand, having sheathed one of his swords when Usagi defended himself against the shuriken. Then Usagi's opponent rushed towards him and it took all of Usagi's remaining strength to block both sword and Tekkō-kagi, causing his side and shoulder to scream in agony.

"And your planet will know me as the man who defeated the great samurai, Miyamoto Usagi," sneered the Ultimate Ninja as he placed even more pressure on Usagi's weapons. "And they will all redeem me and give me the glory I deserved."

_So that's why he wanted to fight me…I am on his way to make a name for himself. And…it looks like he might achieve his goal. I am sorry Michelangelo-san. It looks like you may have to find your way home on your own…though I will still keep on fighting for your sake. And besides…I still have a question to ask of the Ultimate Ninja._

"Why my planet?" asked Usagi as he managed to hold his swords up against the ever increasing pressure of the Ultimate Ninja's weapons, despite his weakening and pain-ridden body. "Why pick me as your opponent? There are many more warriors across the dimensions that are stronger than I am."

"Because you are the strongest on your planet," answered the Ultimate Ninja. "But don't worry, you will not be the only warrior that will taste the bitterness of defeat. After I kill you, I will defeat those stronger warriors so that everyone will recognize that I am indeed the Ultimate Ninja."

"Holy cow, you are the most conceited guy I have ever met!" The words, though very true, caused Usagi to be filled with alarm as the Ultimate Ninja's face twisted with anger. _Oh no…Michelangelo-san did not just say that._

"What did you say?" he growled at the turtle inside of the blue force-field.

"I said that you are the most prideful and dumbest ninja in the universe!" declared Michelangelo defiantly. "Anyone can see that Usagi is a better fighter than you! The only reason why he managed to hit him is because you cheated! Which makes you a big fat cowardly cheater!"

Michelangelo's last insult seemed to echo in the air to the frightened Usagi. _What…what does he think he is doing?! He may be inside the force field for now, but when the fight is over…_

"You will pay for your insolence turtle! I did not care that you were here before. In fact I was even sort of grateful towards you, since you seem to be the reason why Usagi came here, which saved me a trip to his world. But that has changed," stated the Ultimate Ninja as he glared at Michelangelo. "And once I kill Usagi, I will challenge you so I can end your life."

"What? No!" Usagi protest in fear as he tried to sweep the Ultimate Ninja's weapons away, but to no avail. Both pairs of weapons were still in a deadlock with each other and Usagi was no closer to ending the fight so that the Ultimate Ninja could not carry out his threat.

"Gyoji! I am fighting the Ultimate Ninja so that Michelangelo-san's life would not be forfeit! It is surely a rule that if he defeats me, he is not allowed to even laid a finger on Michelangelo-san!" exclaimed Usagi desperately as he looked at the silent referee.

"Your complaint is so noted," said Gyoji without emotion as he raised his magical tool. When he said nothing else, Usagi's heart moved up to his throat. _He's…he's going to let it happen…he is going to let the Ultimate Ninja fight Michelangelo-san…and he just recovered from a high fever! Michelangelo-san will not have a chance!_

"If? If?! There is no if Usagi!" yelled Michelangelo. Usagi turned his head towards Michelangelo, stunned to see the utter belief and faith on his young green face. "You are stronger than him Usagi! You are going to beat him, and we are going to go to my world, where you will meet my family and I will treat you to pizza gyoza!"

Even though Usagi had no idea what pizza gyoza was, he felt his heart moved back to his chest. Fear for his friend's life left his body, as well as his doubt that he could win the death match.

"So stop saying if and kick his butt!" Michelangelo further commanded.

"What a sweet…whoa!" With a sudden burst of strength, Usagi finally pushed back hard enough to make the Ultimate Ninja stumble backwards, hence the whoa. The Ultimate Ninja looked at him in surprise, but before he could do or say anything else, Usagi attacked him, fueled by his conviction and his friend's faith in him.

The Ultimate Ninja managed to defend himself as Usagi endlessly attacked him with his swords, each offensive move stronger than the last. But as Usagi's onslaught continued, it was clear that the Ultimate Ninja was barely holding his ground.

"This…this cannot be! I am the Ultimate Ninja!" declared the Ultimate Ninja as his eyes grew wide with fear and denial.

"No, you are not," stated Usagi firmly. Then in a blink of an eye, he slipped his short sword between the blades of his opponent's Tekkō-kagi and with a twist, he caused the Ultimate Ninja to fall hard on his side. The Ultimate Ninja tried to stab him with his sword but Usagi easily sent it flying with a swipe of his longer sword.

"You are only a man who knows nothing of true honor," continued Usagi as he placed his foot on the villain's chest and pointed his long sword at his neck. "As well as a man who needs to surrender so that this foolish match can end."

For a long moment, the Ultimate Ninja looked angry enough to protest but then he closed his green eyes and sighed.

"Fine, I surrender," he submitted as he looked away, apparently ashamed to look at the person who defeated him in the eyes.

"Yeah Usagi! You did it!" cheered Michelangelo as Usagi raised his sword away from the Ultimate Ninja's neck and stepped off of him.

"Winner, Usagi," judged Gyoji as he twirled his magical tool. Immediately, the blue force-field began to vanish and as soon as it was all the way gone, Michelangelo ran towards Usagi.

"You totally whooped his glory-loving butt Usagi!" exclaimed Michelangelo as Usagi sheathed his swords. "I always knew you could!" _I really did defeat him. I was beginning to think I would not be able to, but I did. All because I had someone to fight for. Someone who believed in me when I did not._

"It was all thanks to you my friend," said Usagi thankfully when Michelangelo reached him. "I would not have been able to if it was not for your support."

"Well…uh…" Michelangelo-san stuttered as he scratched the back of his head, obviously embarrassed. "You're welcome, but next time…don't talk or act like you're going to die, got it?!" Then Michelangelo gave him a hug. A hug that told Usagi that while Michelangelo had faith in him, he had still scared him.

"Alright, I won't," apologized Usagi, his heart touched as he patted Michelangelo's back comfortingly. Then Usagi's side wound, which had screamed in pain when Michelangelo started to hug him tightly, screamed too loudly for Usagi to ignore. "Um Michelangelo-san…do you mind not hugging me anymore? My side…"

"Oh!" cried Michelangelo as he quickly let go of the injured Usagi and jumped backwards, his hands over his mouth in realization and worry. "I'm so sorry! I can't believe…"

"It is okay," assured Usagi who had put his hand gently on his side, making him wince a tiny bit as the pain from both shoulder and side wound attacked him. But it was bearable and when Usagi looked down, he noticed that the long graze the Ultimate Ninja had given him had stopped bleeding. The rabbit then glanced at his shoulder wound and saw that it had also stopped bleeding.

"I will be fine," Usagi said truthfully.

"Yeah, but we still have to take care of it…though Donnie is better at that department than I am," admitted Michelangelo, his face saddened when he mentioned his brother's name. Then, before Usagi could decide on what to say, Michelangelo's baby blue eyes grew wide in fright.

That was when he heard the yell. Full of foreboding and apprehension, Usagi quickly turned around to find that the Ultimate Ninja had lied. Because of instead of surrendering, the dishonorable man was now moving his Tekkō-kagi right at Usagi's chest.

At the same time he took all of this in, he felt hands on his shoulders. These same hands then begin to push him aside, away from the blades of the Ultimate Ninja's deadly weapon. It took Usagi only a second to realize with horror that the hands belonged to Michelangelo. And that his turtle friend was planning to take the fatal blow for him.

**No! Ultimate Ninja, why can't you just accept that Usagi beat you, fair and square?! Why?! So what now? Will the Ultimate Ninja have his revenge on either of them? Read on till find out and if I have enough reviews, I might update tomorrow *hint hint* (Tuesday by the latest because of work). Till then, have a good day!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Thanks for all the wonderful reviews so far!**

**I don't own TMNT. And only Koumori partly.**

"NO!" cried Usagi as he planted his feet firmly on the ground. Mikey's heart raced as he tried to continue to push Usagi out of harm's way, but his rabbit friend wouldn't budge. And the sword was now only inches away from Usagi's chest. Mikey had run out of time to save the samurai, someone who had become one of his closest friends. _No…NO! Usa…_

Then, just when the Ultimate Ninja's sword was about to pierce Usagi's chest, there was a flash of lightning and a yell of warrior could be heard along with the clang of swords crashing. It all happened so fast that Mikey closed his eyes, unable to believe what he just saw. But when he opened them again, he saw that his eyes did not deceive him.

There really was a stranger who had appeared at the same time as the flash of lightning. Even though the stranger was wearing a gold mask with horns and glowing green eyes, Mikey could tell he was an elderly man because of his long white hair and stature. This elderly man, who was wearing a magnificent red and gold kimono and a giant red cape, also seemed to be a warrior since he was wearing silver and gold arm gauntlets. But a relieved Mikey thought the best thing about him was that he was wielding a sword. The same sword that was stopping the Ultimate Ninja's sword from killing Usagi.

"Your Highness," said Gyoji with a bow of his head. _Highness? Wait…could he be...?_

"Daimyo," whispered a shocked Usagi as he immediately bowed towards his savior. Even the Ultimate Ninja had dropped his sword and kneeled in front of the magnificent ruler. Mikey was so stunned by this sudden turn of events that he could stare at the Ultimate Daimyo.

_So…this is the Daimyo…whoa…I never thought that the ruler of this dimension would come to us, let alone save Usagi at the last possible moment…oh shoot! I gotta bow! _Mikey immediately bowed to the Daimyo, hoping that he didn't offend the man who saved his friend. To Mikey's much relief, the Daimyo nodded his head at Usagi, Mikey, and even Gyoji before looking at the villain.

"I cannot believe this," the Daimyo said angrily to the Ultimate Ninja, who was still kneeling face-down at the Daimyo's feet. "Not only did you challenge Usagi only because of glory, you also had the audacity to go against your word of surrender and tried to stab Usagi in the back. I have taught you to do better than that my son." _Yeah, you tell him Daimyo! Tell…wait. What?_

"He's your son?!" Mikey exclaimed, who had finished bowing and was now looking back and forth between father and son with wide eyes and a gaping mouth. _I can't believe it…the Ultimate Ninja…definitely a bad guys…is a prince?! The son of the good guy who saved Usagi?! Talk about bad eggs…_

"Yes he is," admitted the Ultimate Daimyo a bit apologetically. "I am sorry that he gave you and Usagi such a hard time. But, I must say, even though he fought dishonorably, I am pleased that you Usagi, did not choose to do the same. Instead, you fought and won dishonorably. And you, Michelangelo, though you were not in the fight, stood by him and were even willing to sacrifice yourself for him like a true and honorable friend. I salute you both."

Then the Daimyo nodded his head towards Mikey and Usagi, which made Mikey feel embarrassed yet pleased at the same time. _A true and honorable friend? Me? Geez…I think I'm blushing. _Mikey glanced at Usagi and saw that while he wasn't blushing, he also looked embarrassed and pleased to be called honorable by the Daimyo.

"Now, come with us so that my healer can take care at Usagi's wounds," said the Daimyo. Mikey sighed in relief. _Oh good, there's a doctor who can properly take care of Usagi instead of just me winging it because Donnie was always there to…take care of us. Oh Donnie…are you okay bud? Are Leo and Raph okay too?_

"Thank you but…" Usagi started say when Gyoji twirled his magical Ping-Pong paddle, which immediately shined a shining blue light that quickly grew so big that it completely conceal the spirit. Before Mikey could react to this, a blue puddle appear beneath their feet and without warning, all of them started to sink into it.

"Whoa! What the…" exclaimed Mikey in alarm, who tried to get out of the blue quicksand but to no avail.

"It is alright Michelangelo-san. This is just a quicker way to the palace," assured Usagi with a comforting smile as they sank deeper and deeper.

"Oh," said Mikey, relieved. For a moment there, he thought that Gyoji had just gone cuckoo for coco puffs and was going to kill them all. _Well, here we are, finally going to the palace. And hopefully right after Usagi has been patched up, we will finally go to my world. I can't wait either. Because not only am I worried about them and want them to know that I am alive…I miss them._

Then Mikey on instinct closed his eyes as the magical blue quicksand completely engulfed him.

TMNT

Koumori was bored. After Leo, Donnie, and Raph had saved him and the others from being kidnapped by Bishop's men, they had decided that he and April should stay with the turtles. So after informing April's Dad and gathering their stuff, they went to the lair where they have stayed for over a day now.

The young boy thought it was going to be fun to stay with the turtles but boy was he wrong. The turtles, and even April, were too busy to train and come up with plans to invade Bishop's base to play with him. Even Master Splinter was too busy training them and mediating to tell Koumori a story or play Koumori's new favorite game, Goldfish.

Koumori knew that the one of the only reasons he had not died of boredom yet was because of Ice Cream Kitty, who loved licking the small boy's face and snuggling against him. Unfortunately, everyone had made it quite clear that he would melt if he stayed out of the freezer for a long time, so Koumori could only play with his little cold and sticky friend for a short time before he put him back in the freezer.

The other reason was that Raph had given him permission to play with Mikey's action figures. Koumori was playing with the motorcycle April had given him, feeling pretty bored when suddenly the turtle who was almost always mad came up to him with a plastic bag. Koumori smiled as the nice memory played through his mind.

_"You're bored aren't you kid?" the turtle asked. Koumori nodded, feeling a bit nervous and curious because before now, Raph had always stayed as far away from him as he could._

_ "Well here," said Raph as he placed the plastic bag in front of Koumori. Koumori immediately looked inside and saw that there were many toys, toys that April said were called 'action figures' even though they didn't move on their own._

_ "Those are Mikey's…so you better take good care of them you hear?" requested Raph in his usual gruff voice. _

_ "I will!" Koumori promised with a beaming smile. Raph just grunted and walked back to the dojo to train. It was then that Koumori remembered his Mama telling him about people who acted mean and tough but secretly had a heart of gold._

_ "Raph must be one of those people," Koumori whispered before playing with the strange but fun-looking action figures._

But even the new toys had only kept boredom away for so long. Not that Koumori was tired of playing with the missing turtle's toys, far from it. But he was tired of playing by himself. At home, either his parents or his friends in Seto would play or talk to him. And when he came here to this strange world, April would keep him company and the turtles-excluding Raph-would too sometimes.

"But now they are just too busy planning to get Mikey back. Which I don't get why it's taking so long. After all, all they have to do is go inside Bishop's base, sneak around, grab the magic gun, and get out. What more to plan is there?" Koumori mumbled to himself.

"So what else are we supposed to do Leo?! Let Mikey stay in Koumori's dimension till the end of time?!" Koumori suddenly heard Raph yell angrily. Koumori looked towards Donnie's lab where everyone, including Casey who had just arrived a few minutes ago, was planning. _Maybe I should go see what's wrong._

"Of course not Raph!" Leo exclaimed as Koumori changed into a bat and quickly flew to the lab. When he got to the open doorway, he saw Raph glaring at Leo, who looked like he was trying not to be angry. No one took notice of him, which Koumori was fine with at the moment.

"But we also can't just send Koumori somewhere without supervision," Leo continued. _This again! I thought I said that I could take care of myself! _Koumori was just about to remind them of this when Donnie spoke up.

"Why don't we concentrate on getting the gun first? Maybe I can figure out how to change Inkheart so that we could use it to send all of us to Koumori's dimension. That way, we can personally bring Koumori home and we can be reunited with Mikey," said Donnie peacefully and hopefully.

"Could you change it so that all of you will come back as well Donatello?" asked Master Splinter.

"Of course," said Donnie firmly with a nod. Koumori could only look at Donnie with admiration and hope. _April was right…he really is smart. Because of him solving the 'problem,' I can go home and they can get their brother back!_

"Are you sure Donnie?" asked Leo quietly but firmly. Donnie looked unsure for a moment, but then he nodded.

"Of course! I have to!" he exclaimed.

"Of course you can Don!" supported Casey as he put his arm around Donnie's shoulders. "You are a genius after all."

"Yeah, but even some things are beyond your grasp to fix or change," stated Raph.

"Well…that may be true but changing Inkheart isn't!" declared Donnie fiercely, his fists clenched.

"Then how long will it take to change the blasted gun, huh Donnie?!" exclaimed Raph. "Days? Weeks? Months? Years?!" _Years?! I don't want to wait that long!_

"No…" Donnie started to answer with a frantic shake of his head but Raph kept on going.

"And even if you do successfully change it, how do you know that we aren't too late?! That Mikey didn't die long before you were even halfway done?!"

"Raph, that is enough!" exclaimed April hurriedly and fiercely. But even Koumori, as young as he was, could see that April was too late. Donnie's face immediately contorted and fear entered his red-brown eyes. Leo flinched like he just got whipped and Master Splinter, looking sad, closed his eyes. Casey, having taking his arm off of Donnie, looked down as April patted Donnie's shoulder comfortingly, looking extremely afraid and sad. Even Raph bit his lip with a painful expression, like he wished that he could swallow those words that made everyone, including him, sad and fearful.

When he saw their expressions, Koumori finally had had enough. He was tired of seeing the sorrowful look in his friends' eyes and faces. He was tired of seeing them trying to be happy when it was clear to him they were not. He was especially tired of April being sad and crying when she thought Koumori wasn't looking.

Ever since he had arrived, April had taken really good care of him. Except for today of course, she read to him and played with him. She made sure that when it was mealtime that he was full and satisfied. She tucked him into bed at night and sang lullabies so he could fall asleep. Because of her, Koumori didn't feel quite as homesick as he ought to be. Because of her, he knew he wasn't alone in this strange world. All because she treated him like he was her little brother.

Full of determination and bravery, Koumori quietly turned around and flew towards the exit. _All of them, especially April, have taken good care of me. I need to make them happy! I need to as Mama used to say, lift their spirts up! What better way to that than getting them some pizza gyoza?_

Then, with April and the others completely oblivious of what he was doing, Koumori left the lair.

**Oh dear...this isn't good. Like at all. What will happen next? Please stay tuned to find out! I will update as soon as I can so till then, please review and have a good day/night!**


	19. Chapter 19

**Sorry for the long wait, but I was busy. I just hope that this chapter will be worth the wait.**

**I don't own TMNT. And only Koumori partly.**

Mikey waited without making a sound as the Healer took care of Usagi's wounds, which luckily really weren't that serious. The young ninja let out a small sigh as he looked around the blue infirmary, which reminded Mikey of those long hospital rooms in WWII expect instead of cots lined up in two columns, it was cots. And there was also the difference that near the entrance to the infirmary was more in a circular shape than a rectangular shape, with things like strange-looking herbs, surgical tools, and bandages lining the walls.

But the most important thing Mikey noticed about the room was that the Daimyo was not back yet. After Gyoji had transported them all to the infirmary, the Daimyo immediately left the room with his son because as he said, they 'needed to talk alone.' Gyoji also left for some reason but Mikey didn't care if he came back or not. _I want to know what's going happen to the Ultimate Ninja…and…I want to go home as soon as Usagi's wounds are done being treated. _

"There you go, that should do it," stated the Healer just as he finished wrapping up Usagi's shoulder wound. "It will take a little while before your body has healed properly, so make sure that you do not strain too much or else your wounds will open up."

"Yes Healer, I will do that. And thank you for taking care of my wounds," thanked Usagi as he put on his shirt again. While Mikey was glad that Usagi was almost all better now, he could feel his impatience and anxiety rising._ What is taking him so long? His son didn't start fighting against him did he? No, when the Daimyo arrived, the Ultimate Ninja didn't even speak and he seemed to be a bit scared of him. But…he could have gotten his courage back…oh I…_

"It seems that I arrived just in time." Mikey swiftly turned his head and to his relief, the Daimyo was standing in the entrance. For the first time since Mikey knew him, the Daimyo had taken his golden mask off, revealing a wrinkled face that was full of wisdom and kindness. He also carried a long brown staff that was T-shaped and was slightly embellished in gold stripes and red stars.

"Your Highness," said the Healer respectfully as he stood up and bowed. Usagi and Mikey quickly followed suit and only when the Daimyo nodded in their direction did the two friends straighten up.

"So…where's your son?" Mikey asked, relieved to see that the Ultimate Ninja was nowhere in sight yet curious to know what had happened to him.

"Do not worry, I have punished him," stated the Ultimate Daimyo firmly. Wanting to know more, Mikey opened his mouth only to close it when he saw the sorrow in the old man's eyes. _It must be rough…to know that your son is evil and that it is up to you to punish him…good thing me and my bros aren't evil. Master Splinter has been through enough to last a thousand lifetimes. _

"Daimyo, you have been kind enough to have your healer treat my wounds, even though...you were hurting emotionally. And I hate to do this right after your generous deed and your…talk with your son, but there is something that I must request of you," spoken Usagi in a manner that reminded Mikey of Leo a bit.

"I imagined so since you and your friend are in this dimension and the Battle Nexus Tournament isn't happening till another five months," said the Daimyo. "So what is your request young samurai?"

"To send us to Michelangelo's home world," requested Usagi. "You see, he was abruptly sent to my world by a magical weapon and he needs your help to go back, since neither of us know how to open the portal to his world." Mikey nodded ecstatically in agreement. _Please...let me go home now…please._

"Ah, I see. What is your world called Michelangelo?" asked the Daimyo.

"Earth," replied Mikey, his stomach twisting with hope and anticipation.

"Earth what?" asked the Daimyo, his tone and face suddenly becoming unreadable.

"Um…just Earth?" answered Mikey, totally confused in the Daimyo's question. Then to add on to his surprise, the Daimyo let out a sigh that was filled with regret.

"I am sorry Michelangelo," the Daimyo apologized. "I know too many worlds, or dimensions, that have the name Earth. The only way I keep track of them all is by numbering them, for example, I call Usagi's world Dimension 2nd Earth."

"So…what are you saying?" asked Mikey, his heartrate rapidly slowing down. _He can't be trying to say that…_

"I am saying that I have no idea where you are from," said the Daimyo. "Therefore, I cannot send you home." Even though the words were gentle, they hit Mikey's heart and soul like newly sharpened knives. For a moment, Mikey couldn't believe that the kind ruler had even said those words. That he had just heard wrong. That his mind was playing tricks on him. But when the ninja turtle looked at the Daimyo's sorrowful face, he knew that he hadn't misheard those horrible words after all.

"No…" Mikey muttered, his body slightly shaking. _This…this can't be! Not after getting out of that river…_

"Are you sure there is nothing you can't do?!" exclaimed Usagi. "Surely if Michelangelo described his world, you will know what it is!" _Not after Usagi saved me from my fever…not after he requested Lord Kyou to open the portal to the Battle Nexus…_

"I am afraid not," said the Daimyo with a shake of his head. "While there are many worlds, or Earths, that are vastly different from one another, there are just as many worlds that are very similar to each other. So similar that even a detailed description from Michelangelo will not help me discern them." _Not after he fought the Ultimate Ninja for my sake…not after he nearly died just so I wouldn't die…_

"No! I refuse to accept this!" yelled Mikey, frustration in his voice and his hands clenched into tight fists. "I refuse to accept that after everything that has happened, I cannot go back to my family!"

"Michelangelo-san…" said Usagi softly, his black eyes full of sympathy. Mikey was dimly aware that his friend was also startled, like he had never seen Mikey like this before. Which Usagi hasn't, heck, even Mikey could hardly remember a time when he was this frustrated, this defiant, this…this angry. But Mikey has been forcibly taken away from his dear family, has been dangerously sick, and has been terrified for Usagi's life at least twice in a very short time. Even his optimistic and goofy heart couldn't take it anymore.

"I don't care what you say! My brothers, my Father, my friends…they're all waiting for me! And I am going to go back to them and make them happy again! I am Hamato Michelangelo, and no matter what you say, there is nothing in all of space and time that can stop me from getting back to Donnie, Raph, Leo, Master Splinter, April, and Casey!" Mikey exclaimed, determination filling each centimeter of his body. _I promised them that I will come back, and I will!_

"Wait…did you say Master Splinter?" asked the Daimyo, surprise and a bit of hope etched into his face and voice.

"Yes," answered Mikey, the sudden question calming him down a bit. "He is my Father and Sensei. He is also known as Hamato Yoshi. Why?" Then the Daimyo smiled.

"Because I know him." Once again, the Daimyo's words stunned Mikey. But this time, the words didn't hurt Mikey's heart like they were knives. Instead, they were like snow and they filled his soul with hope and happiness.

"What?! Really?!" exclaimed Michelangelo. "How?!"

"He used to participate in the Battle Nexus tournament and he even won once," explained the Daimyo. _What? Sensei won the tournament?! That is awesome! I…wait. He went to a multi-dimensional tournament and never told us?!_ "And we happened to be good friends, even though I have not seen or heard from him in a long while. Though, I think I have a good idea why that is now."

This last sentence was spoken with a knowing smile, which made him wonder if he and his brothers were the reason why his Sensei and the Daimyo didn't keep in touch. But Mikey didn't ponder on that for long. _If…if he knows Master Splinter and was friends with him, then surely…_

"In any case, I definitely know which Earth he resides in. Dimension 3rd Earth," continued the Daimyo. Any doubt or fear that still resided in Mikey's soul immediately flew away. _He knows. He knows! _"And it will be my upmost pleasure to help his son return to him."

"Yes! Thank you! Thank you so much!" cried Mikey as he grabbed the Daimyo's hands and jumped up and down in complete joy and relief. "Good thing I mentioned Master Splinter's name huh?! You hear that Usagi?! We're finally going to my world! My home!"

"Yes Michelangelo," laughed Usagi. "I heard." Mikey started to laugh as well and even the Daimyo, who was a bit startled when Mikey grabbed his hand, let out a big booming laugh.

"You are definitely an interesting one Michelangelo," said the Daimyo as Mikey finally let go of his hand stopped jumping up and down. "But you are definitely your Father's son." Mikey was taken back a bit at that. _So wait…Sensei used to be a goofball too?_

"Did I hear right when you said that you also said that you wanted me to send you along with Michelangelo?" asked the Daimyo.

"Yes your highness," confirmed Usagi. "I was by his side since the beginning, and I would like to see him through to his journey's end." Mikey just smiled, no longer surprised by Usagi's dedication and loyalty. _Man, I can't wait till Leo and the others meet you…they are going to loove you…_

"And you do know the ritual to go to your own world right?" asked the Daimyo. "Because if not, I could teach you right now."

"Thank you, but there is no need to at the moment," answered Usagi. "You can teach me when I come back here, right after I tell you that Michelangelo has made to his home safe and sound."

"That sounds good to me," said the Daimyo with a nod. "Now with that out of the way, let me help you get home!" Then with a swipe of his staff, a big portal made up out of swirling lavender magical energy appeared at the Daimyo's right side. _I can't believe it…I'm finally going home._

"Now keep in mind, this won't send you straight home, since I don't know exactly where that is. But luckily, I am able to use my friendly connection with your Father's spirit to pinpoint the general area where he is," explained the Daimyo.

"So…are you telling me that this portal will still take me to New York City but not to the lair?" asked Mikey slowly, the Daimyo's way of explaining making him a bit confused.

"If New York City is the city in which you live, then yes," confirmed the Daimyo with a nod.

"Oh that's fine then," said Mikey. _After all, I have been traveling to one world to another. Another mile or so isn't going to hurt. Besides, this way I can show Usagi the sights of New York City._

"Well Michelangelo-san, should we go?" asked Usagi, as he gave him a friendly smile full of excitement. Mikey gave a similar smile in return.

"I was born ready," he replied. Then without hesitation, he walked towards the lavender portal with his rabbit friend beside him. When he was right in front of the portal, he turned around and bowed one last time to the Ultimate Daimyo.

"Thank you your Highness. I am forever in your debt," said Mikey gratefully and sincerely. The Daimyo smiled and bowed in return.

"There is no need to be. Knowing that my friend is alive and that he was able to raise such a fine and honorable son is enough for me," said the Daimyo sincerely as he straightened up. "Now go home and make your Father and the rest of your family happy again."

Mikey nodded in silent agreement before he turned around and faced the portal. _Bros…you won't be mourning for much longer. Because I am almost there. Soon, you will see that I am alive and I will see that you guys really are alright. And we won't be missing each other anymore either._ Smiling with anticipation and glee, Mikey walked through a portal once again. But this time, with fully certain that he will be back with his family very soon.

TMNT

April sighed. After Raphael's outburst, everyone has been more or less quiet. Once in a while, Donnie or Leo will suggest an idea, only for someone else to shoot it down. And no one, not even the person who suggested it, will protest that it will indeed work. Like they had never believed it would work either.

April sighed again as she curled up on Donnie's chair and laid her head on her knees. _When we found out what really happened to Mikey…I thought that was the end to the pain. The end to the crying. The end to the hardship. I thought that it was only a matter of time before Mikey was back with us again, his goofy acts making us laugh and smile, making our lives just a bit lighter. But then reality began to set in. Raph just said out loud what we feared in our hearts. That no matter what we do, we might be too late. That Mikey might be...dead after all._

April bit her lip as she tried not to cry. _Is life really this cruel? To give us hope that Mikey is actually alive only to snatch it away from us? To have our hearts hurt even more? It…it can't be! It just isn't fair! Mikey doesn't deserve to die! Donnie and the others don't deserve to lose their brother again! And Sensei doesn't deserve to lose his son again either! Mikey couldn't have survived only for him to die on us again! He just can't!_

"Oh great, he just left them there," muttered Raph a bit angrily. April picked up her head, curious and greatly needing the distraction.

"Who just left what where?" she asked the turtle who was standing by the lab door.

"Koumori left Mikey's action figures on the floor, and he's nowhere to be seen," answered Raph, his face turned into a grimace as he took a step out of the lair. _Koumori…oh gosh, here am I, thinking only of my own sorrows when I totally forgot about him! He has been alone all day and even though he doesn't act like it, he must be wanting to go home as much as we want Mikey back! I…I got to go to him!_

"Why does he have Mikey's action figures?" asked Leo, sounding surprised. April only half-listened as to him as she used her psychic abilities to quickly search out where Koumori was in the lair.

"I…" stuttered Raph, his green face blushing a deep red. "I gave them to him." April's heart skipped a beat, and it was not because of Raph's confession. _Maybe…maybe I somehow just missed him or something. _

"You did?" asked Donnie, who sounded like he didn't believe his own words. April, really not paying attention to the conservation, searched for Koumori once again with her mind. Only to have her heart skip another beat. _Oh no…it can't be…_ "I thought…"

"Thought what Donnie?" asked Raph, as April desperately tried a third time, but to no avail. "That I…"

"Guys!" exclaimed April, not able to deny the horrible and scary truth anymore. "Koumori isn't in the lair!"

**Things are starting heat up...please review and I will update soon (like maybe Saturday). Till have then, have a good day/night!**


	20. Chapter 20

**I'm back! Yay! Sorry, I have been really busy lately. But I'm here now, and I hope that this chapter will be worth the wait.**

**Guest: Thank you so much! :)**

**As usual, I don't own TMNT. And only Koumori partly.**

Though it would have been faster to fly than walk to Mr. Murakami's, Koumori took heed of April's request and turned into a human as soon as he came to the ladder that led to the outside world. And even though the manhole cover had given him a good bit of trouble, he didn't give up and was able to lift it, climb out of the sewer, and even push it back into place before moving on.

And the small boy kept on walking, even though he was beginning to wish that he was back in the safe lair in the sewers, instead of being alone under the very dark sky and among the very tall buildings. Buildings that made up a gigantic city where a dangerous man named Bishop roamed. However, despite his growing fear, Koumori kept on moving towards Mr. Murakami's, a place that he and April have frequently been to over the past two weeks.

"Almost there," he whispered to himself as he walked on the empty sidewalk. _Almost there...soon, I will be at Murakami-san's restaurant. Then I will have the pizza gyoza that will make everybody smile again. _

"Just a few more steps," Koumori muttered, as familiar buildings and familiar posters on light posts signaled that he really was almost to Mr. Murakami's. Even though he couldn't see the Japanese restaurant yet, he felt his spirits lift and his fear leave him. He was even so happy to be almost there that he started to run as he safely crossed the street. _Soon, I will have some pizza gyoza! The gyoza will cheer April and everybody else up! They will stop arguing and crying and being sad! They will be happy ag…_

"Hello Koumori." The familiar voice made Koumori stop in his tracks and his eyes go wide in shock and fear. His heart beating quickly and loudly, Koumori turned his head to the right and looked into a deserted alley. That is, except for a blond-haired man wearing a black uniform and a snide grin on his face. Koumori gasped. _He's the one who…_

"Boys young as you shouldn't be themselves in the city, especially at night," said the man who almost hurt April the night before. When the man took a step forward, Koumori faced away from him and was about to run for his life when he saw another man in a black uniform standing in front of him. His heart in his throat, Koumori turn around only to see that there was third man in a black uniform standing in the place he was only a minute ago.

"You don't need to be afraid of us little alien," said a new voice. Koumori turned his head in the direction of the voice to find out that there was a woman wearing the same scary black uniform standing at the edge of sidewalk.

And to add to his terror, she was walking slowly but surely towards him. In fact, when Koumori turned all around desperately, he saw that they were all walking towards him. Koumori was surrounded and trapped. There was nowhere for him to run without him being caught by Bishop's men.

"Yes, we just want to take you to our boss," said the blond-haired man. "And don't worry, he is going to take very good care of you."

TMNT

As the portal closed behind them, Mikey had to stop himself from laughing at Usagi's bewildered expression and gaping mouth. Even so, Mikey couldn't help but let out a small chuckle as Usagi looked around him like he was in some kind of magical wonderland. _Which makes sense, since Usagi comes from a world where there is no cars, no electricity, no T.V., and worst of all, no pizza. To him, New York is a magical wonderland._

"Pretty neat huh?" asked Mikey with a grin. Usagi could only nod as he continued gazing at the Big Apple with wide black eyes. Mikey then turned away from his friend and faced the direction where his home was. Where Donnie, Raph, Leo, and his Father were. _Home really isn't far away from here…Like probably twenty minutes away if Usagi and I don't stop running. Which I don't plan on doing._

"C'mon Usagi, my home is this way. Let's go and introduce you to my family!" exclaimed Mikey as ran across the rooftop and jumped to another rooftop. _I'm almost there bros…I am really almost there! In twenty minutes tops, we will see each other again! And we will all be happy again! Boy, I can't wait to see how you…react._

"Right behind you Michelangelo-san!" replied Usagi as he followed Mikey's footsteps. "Though I can wait on the introduction till after you have reunited with your family." _Reunite…_The small pit of nervousness that had suddenly appeared in Mikey's stomach grew a little bigger.

_How…how will they react? I mean…they think I'm dead. When they see me, will they think that I am ghost? Or will they think that they are dreaming? Or will they be angry, angry that I caused them so much pain? Or will they not react at all, because they are…_Mikey shook his head desperately as he jumped and landed on yet another rooftop.

_No, they are alright! They are not gone! They are waiting for me, safe and sound at the lair! And our reunion will be wonderful! Though...how should I show myself to them? Should I just scream their names and run up to them and hope for the best? Or should I…agh! I don't know the proper etiquette to reunite with loved ones who think you are dead! What if I reunite with them in the worst way possible and because of it they…_Then Mikey saw it, causing him to jump out of his solemn train of thought and his feet to skid to a stop.

"What is it Michelangelo-san?" asked Usagi as he skidded to a stop right beside him. Mikey didn't answer right away, choosing to smile at the building right before him. The building that he, his brothers, April, and Casey visited often. The building that held a lot of wonderful memories for him.

"Hey Usagi, remember during your fight with the Ultimate Ninja I said that we were going to eat pizza gyoza when we finally got to my world?" Mikey asked, his eyes still on Mr. Murakami's restaurant.

"Yes, though I have no idea what that is," answered Usagi, still sounding a good bit confused. "Why?"

"Because that place right there has the best pizza gyoza in the world," declared Mikey. "And we are going to get some right now."

"What? I thought you wanted to get to your family as soon as possible," pointed out a shocked Usagi as Mikey began to climb down the fire escape. Mikey immediately stopped, his heart both conflicted and worried. After all, his soul still ached for his family terribly, an ache that would only go away when Mikey saw them, all of them again.

However, Mikey's pit of nervousness in his stomach had grown into a nest of twisting snakes in the last minute. He was now anxious about how exactly his family would react to seeing him alive once more. A small part of his brain told him that he was being paranoid, that his family will welcome back with open arms. And while deep down Mikey knew that this was true, he couldn't help but feel afraid that his reunion will end terribly wrong.

"I do," stated Mikey with a brave yet fake smile. "But I was thinking that when we see each other again, we need to celebrate. And what better way to celebrate than with pizza gyoza?" _Pizza would actually be better but that will take too long and I don't have any money anyway. Besides, I have a feeling that Usagi will like pizza gyoza more than pizza since it is Japanese food. And…maybe…it will be a perfect peace offering to give to my brothers. Who will be in the lair, along with Father._

"And besides, I said I was going to treat you to pizza gyoza and I meant it," added Mikey. For a moment, Usagi looked like he was about to say something else before he gave a small sigh and nodded.

"Alright," Usagi replied. "You go get some of this pizza gyoza while I stay here."

"What? Why? Is it because I warned you earlier that most humans will freak out when they see us which is why we need to stay out of sight? Because don't worry, Mr. Murakami is one of the very nice ones…"

"Oh no, I just…want some more time looking at this marvelous city," assured Usagi with a smile. Mikey looked up at him for a second before shrugging.

"Okay, I understand. New York is marvelous after all," stated Mikey as he continued his descent down the fire escape. _Or maybe he just needs a break. His fight with the Ultimate Ninja wasn't that long ago after all. _

"See you in a bit Usagi!" exclaimed Mikey as he finished climbing down the fire escape.

"The same to you Michelangelo-san," responded Usagi as he sat down. Mikey, with the stealth of a ninja, then headed towards Mr. Murakami's when he observed that there were no humans around to see him. _Well bros, looks like I am making a small pit stop but it is going to be worth it. I promise._

TMNT

Usagi sighed when he saw Michelangelo walked inside one of the many strange-looking buildings in this very strange yet truly marvelous city. However, looking at New York City was not the real reason Usagi chose to stay behind. _I do not know why but Michelangelo is suddenly very nervous and worried. Probably something to do with his return to his family. Hopefully, some time alone will calm his nerves down. If not, then I will..._

"So I was right. I did see something unhuman jumping across the rooftops." Although he was startled by the sound of this new voice, Usagi still managed to get to his feet, pull out his swords, and turn around very swiftly.

"Hello, my name is Agent Bishop," said the man who now stood in front of the rabbit samurai, a smug and delighted grin on his face. "What is yours?"

**Uh oh...this can't be good. Oh heck, most of the stuff that happened in this chapter isn't good! So what now? Is this the main climax? Well...you find out if you stay with me and keep on reading! Please review (it motivates me to find time in my busy schedule to write) and have a good day/night!**


	21. Chapter 21

**Thanks for the reviews (and yes, I am a very, very, very bad person for making you all wait this long for an update).**

**I don't own TMNT. And only Koumori partly.**

Raph gritted his teeth as he, Leo, and April ran and jump across the rooftops; Donnie and Casey heading towards April's apartment while his group headed towards Koumori's favorite restaurant, Mr. Murakami's. Agh, can't we run any faster?! That little brat could be captured by Bishop and his men by now…and…he doesn't deserve that.

It had been at least seven minutes since April had discovered that Koumori had left the lair and they had started going after him. Seven minutes that felt like an eternity for Raph. Not that he would ever say that out loud. If he did, the others might read the subtext and figure out that Raph was actually afraid for Koumori's safety, not just impatient and angry. And if they knew that he was anxious to find Koumori, then it will only take another millisecond for them to realize that Raph actually cared for the boy. The boy that Raph had originally disliked.

Raph wasn't sure when his feelings towards the four-year-old began to change. It might have been when he first found out the truth of what really happened to his baby brother, when he was joyous and relieved. After all, Koumori couldn't very well replace him if Mikey wasn't dead.

Or maybe it was when Koumori admitted that his power was creepy in a completely shameless tone and when he admitted he enjoyed their reactions to his biting Leo. While he didn't really like that the little boy bit his brother, he couldn't help but respect him for being totally comfortable with his ability. And, Raph had to admit that if he was in Koumori's shoes, he would have enjoyed see Leo and the others scream in fright and shock too.

In any case, Koumori had changed from an unwelcomed horrible intruder to an interesting acquaintance in Raph's green eyes. But Raph had still refused to let the boy into his heart, especially when they realized that they still might not get Mikey back. And Raph realized that Koumori still might take Mikey's spot in his Father's heart. But that too changed when Master Splinter took him aside that very morning, before they even started their first session of training. The memory of that short but meaningful talk with his Father quickly played through Raph's brain as he continued to run as hard as he could.

"_What is it?" asked Raph when they had arrived in his Father's room. He noticed the solemn look on Master Splinter's voice and his heart immediately became apprehensive._

"_Raph, remember our discussion after your failed attempt to exact revenge on Agent Bishop?" asked Master Splinter after a long second of silence. _

"_Yes," Raph answered, inwardly wincing at the memory. Then, before Raph could have a small flashback or start to wonder why his Sensei was bringing this up again, Master Splinter spoke._

"_Well, there was something I was about to say before we were interrupted. Something that needs to be said." Raph's heart became even more apprehensive and started to pump long and slow beats. He became afraid that his Father would admit that he really was planning replace Mikey with Koumori._

"_That while there might be new people who will come into our family, they will just make our family bigger. Not filling any empty spots there might be," continued Master Splinter. For a moment, Raph couldn't speak. _

"_You…you mean…" Raph stuttered; hope fluttering like a butterfly in his throat, making it hard for the red-masked mutant turtle to speak._

"_Yes Raphael. No one will ever be able to replace any of you four. Michelangelo, Leonardo, Donatello, and you are my beloved sons, and always will be. Nothing will ever change that. Not even disappearance or death." Raph then felt so warm, so touched, so relieved that he immediately hugged his father. While he was tired of crying, his soul just felt so much better that he couldn't let a few tears fall as Master Splinter hugged him back._

Raph knew that at that moment, he had officially let Koumori into his heart. That was why he let Koumori play with Mikey's action figures, since he now trusted Koumori to play with his brother's precious toys and didn't want him to be bored. But now, he rather have Koumori bored than captured and hurt.

"I can sense him now!" exclaimed April suddenly. "He's…oh no! Koumori!" Raph followed April's gaze and saw what made April cry out in fear. Several feet away on the sidewalk, he saw Koumori in bat form and there were four other humans with him. And one of those humans had Koumori in his grip as he put the small bat inside a small green animal carrier.

"April, call Donnie and tell him to get over here! Raph, we're going to save Koumori!" ordered Leo as he drew out his katanas as he sped up. April just nodded as she got out her T-phone and pushed some buttons.

"Got it," growled Raph as he also sped up and took out his sai. How dare they put him in an animal carrier…he's not an animal! Well…at least not a normal one. Then, just as they reached the building nearest to Koumori and Bishop's henchmen, the enemy looked up at them and all of them smiled evilly. How did they hear us…oh it doesn't matter. They're getting their butts kicked no matter what!

"Ah, I wondered when you guys were going to show up," said the blond henchman, who Raph recognized as the one who attacked April and the others the night before.

"April! Leo! Raph!" exclaimed Koumori from inside his cage, his fearful brown eyes looking up at them.

"Don't worry Koumori, we're going to get you out of that cage now!" assured Leo as he and Raph jumped down to the red-and-white awning that was hanging over some shop or restaurant below them.

"We'll see…" The blond-haired henchman managed to say before four very familiar-looking men suddenly walked out of the alley and onto the sidewalk.

"Hello turtles," said Hun as he smirked at the two startled turtles standing on the awning.

"Hun," growled Raph as he gripped his sai very tightly. Memories of the last time they fought ran through his mind like a melody that was full of sadness and anger. Anger at the fact that Hun had hurt his baby brother. Sadness at the fact that even though they had defeated Hun and Donnie had assured them that Mikey was going to be alright, Mikey was still taken away from them just a few moments later.

"What are you guys doing here?!" exclaimed April to the four Purple Dragons as she jumped down to the awning, apparently done with her phone call.

"They are a distraction of course," sneered the female Bishop henchman as a black limousine pulled up beside them. When she opened the car door, Raph forgot all about Hun and his stupid minions.

"Let him go!" ordered Raph as he jumped towards the henchmen, who were quickly moving towards the limousine. But then with the grace and swiftness of a stag, Hun moved in front of Raph and kicked him in the plastron. Raph, who was still in the air, instantly flew backwards onto the red-brick wall behind him, causing him to slide back down the awning.

For a moment, Raph saw stars and mutant frogs jumping around his head before they disappeared when he shook his aching head. When his vision cleared up, Raph's heart skipped a beat and guilt and disbelief spread like a wildfire throughout his entire body.

Because all the henchmen were in the limousine. And Koumori was still in the cage, which was now on that obnoxious blond henchman's lap. Raph also saw that while April and Leo had made down to the ground safely, they were being forced to fight Hun and his stupid goons. Raph realized with a sinking feeling that they weren't going to make it.

"April! Leo! Raph!" Koumori screamed his young voice and face full of terror. Then one of the henchmen closed the door, blocking Raph from seeing the little bat. Raph, even though he knew that the chances of them saving Koumori now were very slim, still got up and jumped down to the ground.

"Koumori!" cried April as she knocked Tsoi out with a kick to the head and desperately ran to the limo, only for Sid to intercept her. Seeing that Leo had knocked Fong unconscious and was now fighting the other remaining Purple Dragon, Hun, Raph knew that his way to the car was clear and thus started to run towards it.

But by the time Raph had started to run, the limo was already driving away. _No! I won't let you thugs get away with Koumori! _Raph pushed himself to run harder as a result, but by the time he reached the edge of the sidewalk, the limo was too far into the distance. Too far away for Raph to catch up to by foot.

"No!" Raph heard Leo cry as the red-masked turtle stopped at the edge of the sidewalk, the bitter taste of defeat on his tongue.

"NOO! KOUMORI!" Raph heard April behind him shout as he gazed after the limo that had left him and the others behind in the dust. _We…we failed. _

TMNT

Usagi gritted his teeth as he glared at the man in front of him. Even though the rabbit samurai had never met Agent Bishop before, he knew the human was dangerous. And what was worse, Usagi could feel an aura oozing off the human that was so full of evil and bloodlust that Usagi decided he needed to attack him immediately. So without even giving Bishop his name, Usagi ran and swung his swords at him.

If this was any other situation, Usagi would have at least asked the man why he was there and what he wanted before attacking. But this wasn't any other situation. Michelangelo was close by and Usagi remembered all too well how deadly sick the turtle was only a few days ago.

Even though Michelangelo was much better now, Usagi doubted his friend had the strength to fight this dangerous man. So Usagi attacked Bishop without warning, in order to finish the fight before Michelangelo came back and alerted the enemy to his presence. And besides, Usagi had a feeling he needed any advantage he could get, including the element of surprise.

But the male human easily evaded Usagi's attack by jumping, delight quickly replacing the surprise in his black eyes. Though Usagi was unnerved, he continued his deadly onslaught only for Bishop to evade them with ease; like this was the first time the rabbit had ever picked up a sword. _Just how dangerous can this man be…for him to outclass me this much?_

Then Agent Bishop suddenly grabbed Usagi's hand and pulled it such a way that Usagi's short sword stopped Usagi's long sword from hitting Bishop's chest. After Bishop had made Usagi block his own attack, he then kicked the rabbit square in his injured side.

"Aaah!" Usagi yelled as his wound screamed in agony. For a moment, Usagi could only think about the terrible pain. For a moment, Usagi's pain made him loosened his grip on his swords. His grip was only loosened a tiny bit but it was enough for Bishop to swipe the short sword away out of Usagi's hand.

Seeing the loss of his sword forced Usagi to regain his senses as well as tightened his grip on his remaining sword. Then even though his body protested, Usagi then kicked Bishop in the leg, making the villain finally let go of his wrist and stumble backwards.

Usagi breathed heavily as he took his long sword in both hands and breathed heavily, his side and even his shoulder now aching horribly with all the strain. Usagi felt his clothes gradually become wet and looked down. As he feared, his side was bleeding once again. _What am I supposed to do? As the way I am now, I can never hope to defeat this man but if I don't keep on fighting him, Michelangelo-san will be in danger soon…_

"Just so you know, you are actually a very good fighter," admitted Agent Bishop with a smirk as he straightened up and took a step towards Usagi. "Even with a wound that must be pretty fresh if such a simple kick could reopen it." _Simple?! If that kick was simple, then I do not want to know what a hard kick is._

"However, even if you weren't injured…" Leaving the rest of his sentence to hang in the air, Bishop closed the short distance between them and raised the short sword. Usagi quickly raised his long sword to block him only to have Bishop knocked it out of his hands with Usagi's other sword. The rabbit's heart beating fast, he looked at the long sword, which lied on the ground several feet away. _I have to get to it…_

"You still wouldn't be able to participate in a serious fight with me for longer than two minutes," continued Agent Bishop. Then, before Usagi could react, the male human hit him upside the head with the hilt of the short sword. For a tenth of a second, Usagi saw a bright flash of white. Then the brave and loyal rabbit samurai knew no more.

**Ahhhh! what now?! What's going to happen?! Well, bear with me (again, sorry for the wait but I...you know what, let's just I have been having writing troubles with this story till today and leave it at that) and read the next update! Until then, have a good day/night/weekend!**


	22. Chapter 22

**I don't own TMNT.**

As soon as Mikey walked into the restaurant and saw Mr. Murakami washing a wok with a smile on his face, the turtle smiled as well. In fact, he was hit with a strong desire to run and give his friend a big great hug but Mikey somehow managed to push it down. Mr. Murakami was blind after all, and Mikey didn't want to cause the older man to have a heart attack by startling him.

"Hello and how can I help you?" Mr. Murakami asked after the bell chimes on the now-closed door had stopped ringing.

"Hey Murakami-san, long time no see!" greeted Mikey very cheerfully. _Man, it feels like I haven't seen or talked to him for ages…I guess being sent to another dimension with no idea how soon you will be able to get home can do that to you. _"Can you…"

Suddenly Mr. Murakami dropped the wok he had been washing, crashing onto the ground with such a huge clatter that it made Mikey jump backwards into the door in surprise.

"Mic…Michelangelo-san?" he said like he had just heard a ghost. Mikey, confused and worried, took a few steps towards the chef.

"Yes, it's me Murakami-san. Wha…" That's when the answer to Mr. Murakami's strange behavior hit Mikey like a wrecking ball. _He...thinks I was dead too! The others must have told him! Oh how could I have thought that my bros wouldn't tell him what had happened?!_

"Oh my…it's okay Murakami-san!" exclaimed Mikey anxiously as he quickly got behind the counter, now only a foot or so away from his friend. "I'm not a ghost…" Before Mikey could continue, the blind restaurant owner turned around and pulled Mikey into a hug.

"I have missed you Michelangelo-san," the older man said softly. Then like a soft breeze, Mikey's latest anxiety got replaced by relief and happiness. Mikey smiled as he hugged his old friend back, feeling grateful that he got to see him again. _Now, if only my reunion with my bros and the others went like this…_

"I was heartbroken when your brothers told me that you had died…so you could imagine my relief when they told me that you actually got sent to another dimension…"

"Wait what?" asked a shocked Mikey abruptly, as he ended the reunion hug by gently pushing Mr. Murakami backwards a bit. "They…they said that?"

"Yes, because that's what happened isn't it? You got hit with a special gun that transported you to another dimension," repeated Mr. Murakami with a confused expression. "And you got re…"

"Yeah that's what happened, but how do they know that?!" Mikey slightly exclaimed, his heart beating fast. And for the first time in his life, the small turtle didn't exactly what he was feeling. He was too shocked by this new revelation. "I…I just got to this world!"

"You did? I just thought that your three brothers, April, and Casey had successfully managed to exchange you and Koumori without fear for the little boy's safety back in his own dimension," explained Mr. Murakami, his eyebrows raised in surprise. _Exchange? Koumori? Why does that name sounds familiar…wait. My bros know I'm not dead…and...and they're trying to get me back…all of them..._

"And you just came here to visit me again…but if you just got here...why are you here and not with your family Michelangelo-san?" asked Mr. Murakami with a concerned look and a somewhat bewildered look on his face. For a moment, Mikey didn't answer. Then he let out a big smile.

"My bros know that I'm not dead!" exclaimed Mikey happily as he hugged the surprised elderly Asian man tightly. "They are alright and they're trying to get me back! I was afraid that they were going to hate me because I caused them so much pain, but they don't! They still love me and they want me back! They want me back!"

"Of course they do Michelangelo...Of course they do," replied Mr. Murakami with a knowing smile as he patted Mikey's back. For few moments, Mr. Murakami let Mikey's soul bask in relief before stepping backwards out of the hug.

"Now, I think it's about time you stopped stalling and go home," asked Mr. Murakami with a bit of a smirk.

"Yeah…I think so too!" nodded Mikey happily as he began to leave the restaurant. It was only when he got to the door that he remembered why he came to Japanese restaurant in the first place.

"Oh yeah! I was going to get some pizza gyoza to celebrate!" cried Mikey as he turned and face the restaurant owner. _And to appease the others…but I don't need to do that anymore! But there will most likely be a party and it will be nice to have some pizza gyoza. And besides, I promised Usagi that I was going to get some for him…_

"When you all are ready to celebrate, I will make some and sent them over to you," said Mr. Murakami with a small chuckle. Satisfied with this answer, Mikey smiled and opened the door.

"Thanks Mr. Murakami for everything!" he said very gratefully as he walked out of the restaurant.

"You're welcome Michelangelo-san! I am just glad that you are alright!" Mr. Murakami replied with a wave. Even though he know Mr. Murakami couldn't see it, Mikey waved back as the door finally closed. Then with a big smile and happy apprehension, Mikey stealthily but quickly ran back to where Usagi was waiting for him.

"Sorry for the wait Usagi, but…" cried Mikey as he jumped back onto the roof, the rest of his sentence hanging in the air when he realized that Usagi was not there. Puzzled, Mikey walked forward as he continued looking around in case he just could not see him.

"Usagi? Uh that's strange, I thought for sure that this was where I left him…whoa!" cried Mikey as he suddenly tripped and fell right on his a second, Mikey began to get on his knees. "Ow ow. Ugh, what was that…"

Mikey's heart skipped a beat as his blue eyes grew wide. Awful foreboding and dread fill up every inch of his soul and body as he kept on looking at the things that were by his feet. The things that had tripped him were Usagi's swords, and a note was tied to the blade of the shorter one.

His throat too dry to even mutter a sound, Mikey picked up the sword and with quivering fingers, untied the note and straightened it out. As Mikey read the note, his dread and foreboding quickly became more and more justified.

_Dear mutant/alien that was traveling with the rabbit,_

_I do not know why you went ahead but it is a good thing you did or else you would have been captured then too. But don't worry, you will have at least a good number of weeks before I finally let him die. If you want to save him, then come to the address below. He and I will be waiting. If not, then I will just find you after I have disposed of the interesting rabbit's scarred and mangled body._

_Till we finally meet,_

_ Agent Bishop._

Mikey immediately wanted to throw up and just barf and heave till there was nothing left in his stomach. But he knew he didn't have the time so he put his hand over his mouth and willed the contents in his stomach to stay there. _Come on…gotta keep it together…Usagi is in the hands of a sick and twisted dude…I have to save him! No matter what!_

After what felt like forever, Mikey's nausea finally went away. When it finally did, Mikey looked at the bottom of the letter and read the address. _Hmm…so if I'm correct…it's about a mile or so away from the Statue of Liberty…got it. _Mikey then crammed the note into his pouch before getting up, picking up Usagi's swords, and running across the rooftop. Then right before he was about to jump off, Mikey realized something, making stop right at the edge.

_My bros…_Mikey look back in the direction where his home was, where his family was. _Should I go to them? I am so close…and they could help me rescue Usagi. _Then Mikey nodded his head, despite the painful yearning to see his brothers and the rest of his family again. _No. I go to them, it would take too long for me to explain what had happened, as well as take just as long for us to prepare to invade Bishop's lair. And Usagi needs to be rescued now! Before he…he becomes scarred! And I can't let that happen, especially not after all that he has done for me!_

So without another moment of hesitation, Mikey turned around and jumped off the rooftop, fiercely determined to save his rabbit samurai friend.

TMNT

"Is that really it?" Leo asked Donnie as he looked through his telescope at the abandoned and run-down gas station before him. Donnie nodded beside him.

"Yeah, the gas station must be a cover up or something," answered Donnie. "So that people won't know where the EPF headquarters are."

"Except for the people he invites," added Raph with a low voice as he fingered his sai, both weapons back on his belt. Leo sighed and closed his eyes. After Koumori had been taken away, Leo got so angry that he was able to defeat Hun quickly and with some ease. April and Raph, who had furiously joined the fight, also finished their opponent quite quickly.

Donnie and Casey arrived soon afterwards and after April tearfully told them what happened, they immediately wanted to invade Bishop's lair. Then Raph brought up that since they are going to Bishop's lair anyway, they should also steal the Inkheart gun. Leo readily approved both notions, since Koumori needed to be saved right away and the gun was their only hope for getting Mikey back. But Leo couldn't help but feel anxiety when he agreed to the new plan, anxiety that only intensified as they made their way to the lair.

"So what now Leo?" asked Casey. "Do we bust through the front door or the back door?"

"This is a government facility Casey! We can't just bust in! We have to sneak in!" exclaimed April, clearly a bit irritated. Leo looked at her and felt his guilt increased when he saw the worry and fear in her eyes. _She was the closest to him out of all of us…and I failed to save him too. _

"Well why not?! The more time we waste, the more time Koumori is in Bishop's hands!" exclaimed Raph angrily. "As well as that stupid gun!" _So Raph really does care for Koumori…that's good but…but if we don't save Koumori, he won't know how much Raph does care for him. And if we do manage to save Koumori and steal the gun, where do we go from there?_

"Yeah, but then we will get captured before we could even reach him!" argued Donnie. _He just started to talk again…if we fail to save Koumori…how is Donnie going to react to losing our new friend? How is he going to react when our last hope to getting back Mikey is completely gone if we fail to steal the Inkheart gun?_

"He's right," Leo finally butted in. "If we just bust in, there is a big chance that we will get captured before we could save Koumori. So we are going to sneak in, but not through the front or back doors. I think I can see a trapdoor on the roof. We are going in that way."

"As always. We will never change will we?" asked Raph snidely, though Leo could tell that he was fine with the plan. _Is it a good plan though? Is this the right way to go?_

"Nope," replied Leo with a small smirk that quickly turned into a determined frown as he put away his telescope. "Let's go." In a matter of minutes, they were on the roof of Bishop's base and after carefully avoiding the cameras, they reached the trapdoor and opened it. In the next minute, they had all climbed down the ladder-which was below the door-and landed on the staircase it led to.

"Okay, so far so good," commented April softly. Leo nodded, even though anxiety and dread made his stomach twist and turn. _I can't help but feel that this has been __too__ easy and we only just entered Bishop's base! I guess…I guess we really did get invited…_

"Let's hope that it stays this good," added Donnie just as softly. Leo's dread only grew at those words. _What if…I'm right? And it only gets worse from here? And not only do I fail to save Koumori, but I failed Raph, Donnie, April, and Casey? And Mikey?_

Not trusting himself to talk, Leo silently motioned the others to follow him and within moments, they were quietly but quickly going down the staircase. No one spoke a word, which Leo knew was good for their rescue mission. However, a part of him wished that someone would talk, if only so that he wouldn't be alone with his thoughts and growing despair.

_After all, I failed to save Koumori once…who says that I won't fail him again! I failed to stop Mikey from being transported, who says I won't fail in stealing the gun! Who says I won't fail in bringing my baby brother back while sending Koumori back home safe and sound! _

The blue-masked ninja turtle then shook his head in a vain attempt to make those thoughts fly away. He knew that not all hope was lost, that there was still a good chance that Leo and his team will succeed. That they will rescue the little bat-boy and steal the gun. That they will be able to bring back Mikey without the fear of sending Koumori to a dangerous place.

But after Raph's outburst back in the lair and seeing Bishop's men drive away with Koumori had taken a heavy toll on Leo's confidence and for the life of him, Leo just couldn't build his confidence and hope up again. However, there was still a little bit of each left. And that was enough for Leo to keep on going down the stairs. _It may be true that I won't be able to save Koumori or get my little brother back but…but I will try to the best of their ability. I have to._

**Leo...:( And Mikey you are right. Bishop is a sick and twisted man. So what is going to happen next? You have to read the next update to find out! Please feed the starving writer by leaving a review!**


	23. Chapter 23

**Yay! The newest chapter is here! I hope you like it!**

**I don't own TMNT. And only Koumori partly.**

"That's a weird lair," commented Mikey to himself as he looked at the abandoned gas station with boarded windows that laid before him. Then he shrugged. "But then, we live in the sewers, so who am I to judge?"

Then Mikey sighed and narrowed his baby blue eyes in concentration. _So how should I break in there? _After a minute of hard pondering, Mikey decided to go in through the back door so with all the stealth and grace of a master ninja, he went over to there. When he reached the back of the building, he pressed himself against the wall for a few moments. When Mikey saw that the coast was clear, he sneaked over to the back door and gently turned the doorknob, even though he expected it to be locked.

"It's not locked," said Mikey with surprise as the door opened with a small creak. But before he could feel lucky or relieved, he saw the small box-like thing beside the door. A box-like thing that looked awfully like a fingerprint scanner. _"He and I will be waiting." _Mikey shuddered as he remembered the words Usagi's kidnapper had left him.

_This…this is a trap isn't it? Why else would I be able to open the door without scanning my fingerprint?! That Bishop guy left it unlock on purpose! _Mikey grasped his head in fright as his heart beat faster and faster. _What am I supposed to do? This is definitely a trap…and I can't rescue Usagi if I'm caught too!_

When he remembered about his friend, Mikey's heart calmed down and he put down his hands. _But Usagi is in there…and who knows what Bishop could be doing to him right now…I gotta go in there. I just have to be extra sneaky and not get caught. _Determined now more than ever to rescue Usagi, Mikey took a deep breath and walked inside the building.

Instead of long hallways with grey metal doors or anything that screamed crazy-and-evil-government-facility, the inside of the building looked just like the outside. A dump, complete with fallen shelves, dirty and crumpled candy wrappers, and a broken cash register.

"What is this? The hideout of a K.N.D villain?" asked Mikey out loud as he walked forward and looked around. "Oh man, I need to watch that awesome show again." Then Mikey saw it, causing him stop walking. The thing in question was a gray metal door that looked cleaner than the rest of the building. And there was a small keypad on the wall right next to it.

"Bingo," finished Mikey with a small smile. He then walked over to the door, and just like the last door, it opened easily when Mikey turned the doorknob. Though this made Mikey's stomach even more uneasy, Mikey walked into the room without any hesitation whatsoever.

Unlike the rest of the gas station, this room was empty of any broken shelves and cashiers and it was completely spotless. Imprinted on the left wall there was a seal of an eagle holding a triangle with the Earth inside it while the words 'Earth Protection Force' and 'E.P.F" surrounded it.

But what held Mikey's attention the most was the elevator and the door beside it that was right in front of him. Curious, the teenage turtle walked to the door first and saw that it led to a staircase leading both up and down.

"Hmm…stairs or elevator?" asked Mikey as he looked back and forth between the stairs and the elevator. _Let's see…it would be quieter to use the stairs but Bishop already knows I'm here so…_

"Elevator it is then! He won't expect me to use it!" exclaimed Mikey as he pushed the down button. After a few moments and a ding, the elevator doors opened to reveal a mostly gray elevator with a black ceiling and bottom. _Well…here I come Usagi. Here I come. _

Mikey then walked inside the elevator and pushed the button that would take him to the lowest floor, causing the elevator to start its descent. _Usagi is most likely in the dungeons and the dungeons are always on the lowest floor right? Oh wait, do government agencies even have dungeons?! _Before Mikey could start to panic, the elevator stopped moving and the doors opened to reveal a man in a black battle suit-complete with a helmet and gloves-, holding a cell phone to his ear.

"Hi honey, I'm on my way home, do you want…for dinner?" the man asked as he stepped inside the elevator before stopping abruptly in front of Mikey. The man's brown eyes grew wide in shock as Mikey wordlessly stared back. For a very brief moment, neither one of them spoke. Then Mikey smiled, an idea that he thought was brilliant popping up in his head.

"Pizza is always a good choice dude." With those words, Mikey swung his nunchucks.

TMNT

After running down the staircase for a few minutes, April and the others finally reached the end of it as well as a door. As Leo silently cracked open the door and peeked outside, April O'Neil reached to her belt and grasped her tessen. Her heart, full of apprehension and anxiety, pounded heavily as April mentally prepared herself to fight.

Then Leo, without looking back, motioned them to follow him as he stealthily went beyond the door. Without a word, Casey and the others followed suit. Quickly looking around, April saw that they were in a long white hallway, with a few grey metal doors lining the walls.

"So now what?" asked Raph silently as he glanced from one end of the hallway to the other with a determined glare. _Yeah…which way should we go? Which way are the bad guys holding Koumori? Which way are the bad guys holding the Inkheart gun? Left or right? _Leo opened his mouth to speak but he didn't get to say anything because at that moment, a blaring alarm rang through the halls, bringing great pain to their eardrums.

"Of course! Bishop must have hidden cameras!" explained Donnie as he placed his hands over his ears. "He probably even installed them in the stairway!"

"Yeah, and now that I think about it, that trapdoor should have been locked!" added Raph with his own hands over his ears. "We walked right into a trap!" _Oh no…_April gripped the sides of her head harder as her fear grew larger and larger. _What are we going to do now?! We just can't fail to rescue Koumori! We may not have been able to stop him from being kidnapped, but there is no way we are not going to save him!_

"This way you guys, c'mon!" ordered Leo with a slightly desperate look as he waved them over to the left side of the hallway. He then started to run and April immediately followed suit. _Oh please, let us be able to steal the Inkheart gun too…that gun is Mikey's only chance._

"There they are men!" an unfamiliar voice suddenly exclaimed. April looked back and saw a group of men in black battle suits turn around the corner and charge at them.

"Remember, shoot to stun, not kill! Agent Bishop wants them alive!" exclaimed another unfamiliar voice. April turned her head back and saw that there were even more men with guns pointing at them in front of her. _We're…We're surrounded…_

"You will be shooting nobody!" yelled Leo as he jumped forward and sliced the guns of the guys closest to them in half. April threw her tessen at the men in front of her and after that, everything became chaos as the redhead and her friends fought Bishop's goons.

_Gotta keep on fighting…_April sliced a gun in half and aimed a high kick at the goon's head. _Gotta save Koumori…_She and Leo ran to the end of the hallway and around the corner, lasers missing them by inches. _Gotta steal that stupid gun…_A goon tried to punch her but April block the hit. _Gotta save the little boy who was curious and amazed at everything, as well as always tried to make me smile and laugh…_April and Leo kept on running down hallways, turning whenever there was corner, and fighting the seemingly endless numbers of henchmen. _Gotta try my best to bring Mikey back!_

Then suddenly, there were no more henchmen to fight and no more lasers or hits to dodge. April panted heavily as the chaos of the battle finally ended and she became truly aware of her surroundings. They were in another hallway but instead of gray metal doors lining the walls, there were several big and square-like openings in the wall with vertical lasers closing them off. _It's like they are…_

"They're cells!" exclaimed April as relief started to put her fear and anxiety at ease. _Koumori is here! We are almost there! _"We have found the cells! Koumori must be somewhere around here! Kou…"

"Where are the others?!" exclaimed Leo, pure anxiety in his voice as he looked around desperately.

"What do you mean, where are…" April responded as she looked around, her sentence abruptly ending when she saw that Donnie, Raph, and Casey were not there with them. April's heart skipped a beat. _Oh no…_

"Raph! Donnie!" cried Leo, his hands cupped around his mouth as he hurried back to the beginning of the dungeon-like hallway. April gulped, her anxiety and fear coming back in full force when she didn't hear an answer.

"Casey!" she cried as she hurried to Leo's side and looked left and right at the hallway t-intersection. But her two turtle friends and her human friend were nowhere to be seen.

"This is all my fault…" muttered Leo, his voice dripping with guilt. "I should have realized this was a trap…I should have kept an eye on the others better…I should have been able to stop Koumori from getting kidnapped…I should have been able to stop Mikey from getting transported…"

Dumbfounded, April could only look at Leo as his voice quivered and his blue eyes began to fill up with water. _Leo...how long have you been blaming yourself? Did it start on that rooftop, when you thought Mikey had died? Oh Leo, I wish that I had known sooner that you felt this way so I could tell you that it wasn't your fault...but I do now. _April then placed her hand on Leo's shoulder.

"Leo..." April started, prepared to tell her friend that it wasn't his fault for what had happened to Mikey, Koumori, and the others. She also fully intended to tell him the fight wasn't over yet, and that there was still hope. But then she got interrupted.

"Ugh my head...where am I?" asked an unfamiliar voice. April and Leo turned around only to see that there was no one behind them.

"Did Bishop kidnap someone else?" April asked Leo softly as he drew out one of his katana, which had been sheathed earlier along with its partner.

"Only one way to find out," responded Leo just as softly before he walked down the prison hallway. April followed him, her tessen out just in case the voice belonged to an enemy.

Then Leo, stopped at a cell on the left near the end of the hallway. April stopped beside him a second later and her eyes widened a bit when she saw who the voice belonged to. Because even though she had seen plenty of mutants in her short lifetime, she was not expecting to see a teenage mutant rabbit in some kind of traditional Japanese clothing in a cell.

"Oh my," the rabbit said, sounding totally surprised.

TMNT

"We're alive dudes, we're alive," repeated Casey with relief as he leaned back against the wall in a tired manner. Donnie silently agreed with him as he sighed with relief and slight exhaustion. He, Raph, and Casey were now in what must be the surveillance room, judging by all the screens on the big machine that was behind a table with quite a few keyboards attached to it.

After they got separated from Leo and April by accidently making a different turn during the chaotic fight, Donnie and the others ran in here so that they could gain a brief respite from fighting. Unfortunately, while none of the goons had neither seen nor followed them, there were plenty of henchmen in the surveillance room. Luckily, these henchmen weren't trained fighters so Donnie and the others were able to dispatch them without any trouble.

"Yeah, but what about Leo and April?" asked Raph, who didn't put his sai back on his belt even though all the surveillance lackeys were clearly dead to the world. "We're alright, but we don't know if they are!"

"Well luckily, we are in the right room for that aren't we?" Donnie pointed out with a smile, even though he was afraid for Leo and April as well. _But…but they should be alright...they're together and both of them are good fighters. Heck, knowing Leo he's probably freaking out over us._

"And we managed to defeat them before they could sound an alarm so we should be good for a while," Donnie continued as he walked up to the screens closest to him. The screens showed him hallways that were either empty or had soldiers-unconscious and conscious-but Donnie didn't see any sign of his older brother and April. _But it's okay…there are other screens and I have the power here to move the cameras around…_

"Right! And hey, we can even find out where Koumori is too!" exclaimed Casey ecstatically as he walked up to the screens on his left.

"Yeah…and maybe where Bishop is hiding that stupid gun," Raph muttered softly as he walked up to the center of the machine and looked up at the many screens. _Yeah…that's right, we can find the Inkheart gun and Koumori from here! When we were looking for a room to hide, we just picked this room on a whim but look how lucky we are!_

No one talked as they looked at each computer screen and used the controls to either move the camera or, as Donnie figured out and told the others, to pull up different cameras that showed different hallways. But after a few minutes or so of this, Donnie found nothing. No Leo, April, no Koumori or anything that resembled a prison, and no sign of the gun that would bring his baby brother back.

"Have you guys found them? Or the gun?" asked Donnie, refusing to give up hope. _We will find Leo and April, we will save Koumori and steal the Inkheart gun, and we __will__ be able to bring Mikey back without having to worry about Koumori's safety. I don't care how hard it will be, I don't care how high the chances of failing are, but we __will __be able to do this. Our family __will__ be whole again and Koumori __will__ be back with his family, safe and sound. It has to be. I won't accept any other future._

"Nope," grunted Raph.

"Nope, I just see a small soldier who for some reason has placed himself against the wall and is looking around suspiciously. And now he is taking off his helmet…Raph slap me," Casey suddenly ordered.

"Um…not that I have any particular problem with that, but why now of all times?" asked Raph, sounding both surprised and somewhat agitated. What Casey said next, caused Donnie's hands to stop moving, his red-brown eyes to widened, and his heart to skip a beat.

"I see Mikey."

**:) Hehehe...yay! But...now what? How will Donnie and Raph react? Will Mikey get caught or go by unnoticed? Where is Koumori? Will Leo and Usagi have an epic bromance? The only way to find out is to keep on reading! Please feed the author (aka review) and I will update as soon as I can! Seriously!**


	24. Chapter 24

**I hope this chapter was worth the wait!**

**I don't own TMNT and only Koumori partly. As usual.**

Donnie and Raph didn't speak for a moment, and Casey didn't blame them. He could hardly believe it himself, but no matter how much Casey blinked his eyes, Mikey was still there on the screen. He was just standing there in that hallway, wearing a soldier's uniform that was a bit too big for him and gloves that Casey could see now had ripped fingers. _Mikey must have ripped the gloves when he tried to put them on so he could fit in…here…Mikey…Mikey is here…_

"What?!" exclaimed both Raph and Donnie as they suddenly bombarded Casey Jones. But even though they rammed him onto the table, he didn't mind at all. Casey was too busy focusing on his heart, which was close to exploding. _Mikey is here…Mikey is here! He is here in this dimension! I'm not seeing things! He really is here in our dimension! _

"Mikey…MIKEY! Ha ha!" exclaimed Raph with joy, who also sounded like he was on the edge of crying. "He's here! He's actually here! Hallelujah!"

"I knew it…he's alright! Our baby bro is alright and alive!" screamed Donnie with utter joy and relief in his voice as he kissed the screen. "I knew it! I knew that we would see him again! I knew it!"

"Yes! Mikey's back! He's really back!" laughed Casey as he fist-pumped the air. "Yes yes yes! Hahahaha!" And Casey kept on fist-pumping the air and laughing, too ecstatic too stop. _For way too long, we have been sad and nearly hopeless. Even when we discovered the truth about what really happened to Mikey, we were only happy for a short time before becoming unsure and scared. But now…those bad feelings are gone. _

"Though…what in the world is he doing here in Bishop's lab?" asked Raph after a few more minutes-or it could have been moments, since Casey had lost track of time-of celebrating. The turtle in question was right now taking something out of his helmet.

"Maybe he saw us come in here and he followed us?" suggested Casey as he recognized that the item Mikey had taken out of his helmet was a rabbit's foot. _Ewww…why was there a rabbit's foot in the soldier's helmet, and not in one of the pockets? I know it supposed to mean good luck but still…_Apparently Mikey also thought it was disgusting because he tossed it away like it had burned him.

"Oh who cares! He's alive, he's nearby, and he's okay!" exclaimed Donnie as Mikey on the screen changed his mind and picked up the lucky charm and put it in his pocket. "Now let's go get him and together, we can find Leo, April, and Koumori!"

"Yeah!" supported Casey. _Finally…we're finally going to be with Mikey again!_

"You don't need to tell me twice!" exclaimed Raph as he headed towards the door. _There is actual hope again…everything is going to be fine. _Casey then followed him, with Donnie close behind. _Like always. _

But Casey had thought too soon because right at that very moment, the door was thrown open with a loud crash and it wasn't Raph who slammed it opened. Casey's relief was quickly put on the back burner as he stared at Bishop and the three goons behind him.

"Only three of you are here? That's okay, I can definitely work with this," commented Bishop with a snide smile. Casey gulped with apprehension as he took out his hockey stick. _He just had to be here…but…but we can take him right? There are three of us here after all…though Bishop does have his henchmen here with him. _

"Bishop…" growled Raph as he twirled his sai. "Get out of our way!" _But we can take them!_

"Really? I seem to remember how in our last fight you got your butt handed to you," sneered Bishop.

"I was alone then. Now, my brother and friend are with me, and I got a better reason to fight than revenge!" exclaimed Raph as he immediately attacked Bishop.

"Booyakasha!" cried Donnie as he instantly joined his brother. _We have to! Mikey is out there, waiting for us!_

"Goongala!" Casey cried as he quickly ran forward so he could help his two turtle friends fight Bishop and his men. Before Casey could get to Bishop and the already struggling turtles, Bishop's men intercepted him. Instead of wasting time in muttering or complaining, the dark-haired teenager just fought them to the best of his ability. _We have to rescue Koumori and find Leo and April too! We have to tell them that Mikey is here and alive!_

"Hello, looks like we meet again Mr. Jones," said a familiar looking henchman with blond hair after Casey had defeated two of the goons with a couple of well-placed hits. Casey then faced him with his stick raised high, only to have the henchman kick him in the stomach and knock him flying backwards.

"Oops, I am so rude to not introduce myself even though we have fought before. My name is Jacob Knight," introduced the goon as Casey slowly picked himself up, his hand on his painful stomach.

"Wait, your last name is Knight?" Casey suddenly asked, not believing his ears.

"Yes…oh no," said Jacob as Casey's lips began to quiver and tried to keep a certain noise from coming out. But Casey's attempt to stay serious failed, leaving him no choice but to burst out laughing.

"Oh my gosh, you're Knight and he's Bishop! Hahaha! This is just like a game of chess!" laughed Casey heartily as he stood up. "Where's your horse Knight? And where are the queen and king? You have to protect them! Oh, and where is the castle? Oh is the lair the castle? Can it move? Hahahaha!"

"This is not the time Jones!" Casey heard Raph exclaim. Casey looked past Jacob Knight and what he saw made his hysteria fly away. Bishop was pinning Raph down by a single boot on the turtle's neck, and Donnie was struggling to pick himself up.

"I actually agree with the turtle," agreed Knight in a sinister and furious tone as he glared at Casey. "And you will regret ever laughing at me Casey Jones. YOU WILL!" Then Knight rushed at him, his club raised high. Casey dodged him just in time, the club missing his head by inches.

"Raph!" Donnie cried as Agent Bishop suddenly and harshly kicked Raph upside the head. To Casey's ever-growing dismay, Raph's green eyes rolled up inside of his head before closing, making it clear to everyone that the second-oldest turtle was unconscious. _Oh no…_

"Keep your eyes on me you cretin!" exclaimed Knight as he charged Casey with a raised club for a second time. With no time to dodge, Casey brought up his hockey stick and blocked the blow. However, the force was so strong that it took just about all of Casey's strength to not let go of his hockey stick and fall on his bottom.

"Remember what I have told you Knight? It is unprofessional for you to get riled up by such taunts," reprimanded Bishop as he slowly but steadily approached Donnie like a predator. _Donnie! Oh no…we are getting our butts handed to us…I…I don't think…_

"Casey!" exclaimed Donnie suddenly, who was standing up by this point. Casey, who was fighting against the pressure of Knight's club with his hockey stick, risked a look at Donnie. To his surprise, there was determination on Donnie's face instead of fear. The purple-masked turtle then tilted his head just a bit and briefly towards the big computer with all the screens. Still confused, Casey let his brown eyes look at the computer and saw Mikey, now with his helmet on, walking down the hall on one of the screens. Then Donnie threw his bo-staff, his precious weapon, towards Casey before tackling Agent Bishop.

At that moment, Casey understood perfectly what the genius turtle wanted him to do. And Casey also understood that if he failed, they could kiss their hope goodbye. So with a deep grunt, Casey used all of his remaining strength to rapidly twist Knight's club out of his hands with his precious hockey stick. Then before the club even hit the ground, Casey gave Knight a good thwack on the head, making the adult crumple to the floor.

All of this happened in about two seconds and Donnie's weapon was still in the air, though it was now in arm's reach of Casey. Without hesitation, Casey let go of his hockey stick and grabbed the bo-staff out of midair. He then turned around, pushing the button that made the bo-staff into a naginata. Ignoring the Knight's muffled sounds of pain beside him and the sounds of Donnie and Bishop wrestling in the background, Casey threw the naginata towards the many cords that connected the computer to its power source, two plugs.

When the blade of naginata cut the power cords in half, resulting in the computer completely shutting down as the power cords sorted out with tiny but loud zaps of electricity, Casey smiled. _I did it... _Casey was so full of triumph that he hardly struggled when Knight knocked him to the ground and pinned his arms back behind him. _Now Mikey and the others have a chance…_

"Completely wrecking our surveillance system so that we wouldn't find Leonardo and Ms. O'Neil? While I am not happy how much fixing or replacing this is going to cost me, I will say that it was a good plan," complimented Bishop as he walked towards the human teenager, the two turtle teenagers both lying unconscious on the ground behind him.

"But it was futile." Bishop stopped in front of Casey as the boy felt Knight handcuffed his wrists together. "The turtle and the human-kraang mutant will be in my hands and there is nothing you or anyone else can do about it." _But there is something you don't seem to know…Mikey is still out there…_

"There maybe so, but..." commented Casey, his voice full of contempt and confidence. "We are still not beyond saving." _Because even if Leo and April got kidnapped as well, there is still Mikey. And if Mikey can somehow get back to our dimension, then there is no doubt that he cannot save us as well._

"I doubt that, but we shall see," responded Bishop with a sly smile. "We shall see."

TMNT

_He just has to be one of Michelangelo-san's brothers...and the girl beside him must be April O'Neil…but…why are they here? Did Michelangelo-san somehow find out that Agent Bishop defeated me and who also apparently captured me and told his family? Then…how did they get here so fast? I do not think that I was out that long…or was I?_

"Are you alright?" the blue-masked turtle asked, his blue eyes portraying his wariness and yet concern. _A blue ninja mask…I think I remember Michelangelo telling me that his brother who wore that color was named Leonardo._

"Yes, I believe so," answered Usagi after a quick look at his side. His wound was not bleeding anymore and surprisingly enough, Agent Bishop had even changed the dressing on his injury. _Why…why would the villain take care of my injury?_

"So let me guess. Bishop attacked you just because you were a mutant and after hurting you, he knocked you out and you then woke up here in a cell," deduced April, her hand motioning towards Usagi's side wound. Usagi's black eyes narrowed as April's words made him confused. _Mutant? _

"Well…we mostly just fought each other but I do remember him calling me unhuman. So yes, that is the gist of it," confirmed the humanoid rabbit as he stood up. _But should they not know about this already? And why are they looking at me like they were not expecting me to be here? And Michelangelo-san should have told them that I am not a mutant…_Then the truth hit Usagi like a firework, making him gasp in realization slightly. _Michelangelo-san has not gotten to his family yet. They do not know yet._

"In any case, let's get you out of there," said Leonardo as he took his katana and stabbed it into something on his side of the wall that Usagi was unable to see. Then suddenly, the strange red beams of light disappeared, leaving the rabbit samurai free to walk out of the cell.

"Thank you," said Usagi gratefully with a smile as he walked out of the cell, even though his mind and heart were currently in a turmoil. _Why is Michelangelo-san's family in this strange place? Where is Michelangelo-san?! Why is he not with his family?! Is he by chance somewhere out there, looking for me?! Did...did he get captured too?!_

"No problem," replied Leonardo as he sheathed his katana with a small but welcoming smile. "Oh, and my name is Leonardo."

"And I'm April," added the red-haired girl.

"It is nice to meet you Leonardo-san and April-san," greeted Usagi as he bowed, as he did not know who they were. "My name is Miyamoto Usagi." _That's right…introduce yourself and stay calm. _

"Are you from Japan? And…by chance, are you a samurai?" asked Leonardo, a bit of excitement his voice. A voice that Usagi could tell was also underlined by pain and fear. And while both Leonardo and April's blue eyes were lighted by curiosity, Usagi could also clearly see the grief in them. Grief that surely must be for the young turtle, Michelangelo.

"Unfortunately, before I can tell you more about myself, there is something I must tell you," stated Usagi. Even though Usagi admittedly wanted to answer Leonardo's questions simply because he liked the turtle's eagerness, Usagi knew that the questions would have to wait. _Leonardo-san and April-san cannot go on like this for another second…they have to know that Michelangelo-san is alive! He may or may not be safe but he is in this world!_

"And what is that?" asked April, fear and apprehension on her young pretty face. Usagi then inhaled deeply before letting it out. _Just blurt it out…no cutting corners, no working up to it. Just tell them. Calmly, but bluntly._

"I…"

"There they are!" Usagi turned and saw that the person who interrupted him was a human man wearing a black uniform and carrying a very strange weapon that was a long cylinder in shape. And there were five more men wearing the same exact clothing and carrying the same kind of weapon with him. _Great...I__ took too long..._

"Darn it," muttered Leonardo as he drew out both of his twin katana. Usagi's hands instinctively reached for his swords only to feel an empty space. _They're…my swords are gone! How…how am I supposed to fight?!_

"Quick! Call for reinforce…" ordered the first subordinate of Agent Bishop before April raced forward and disarmed the startled man with a graceful twist of her tessen.

"Here," Leonardo said as he suddenly handed his katana to Usagi.

"Oh no you don't!" April cried as she raised her leg, obviously about to land a high kick on her opponent.

"Wha…" Usagi stuttered out, so bewildered by the gesture that he absentmindedly took the sword from Leonardo's hand.

"You need a sword to fight right?" Leonardo pointed out with a smile, respect and unselfishness written all over his face. Right then, bright and loud red beams of light flew out of the weapons towards them, making both rabbit and turtle move in order to dodge them.

But Usagi was not bewildered anymore as he gracefully dodged the uncanny beams. _When Michelangelo-san told me a little about Leonardo, I could tell that he admired and adored his older brother greatly. And now I can see for myself why._

"Right," Usagi finally confirmed as he gripped Leonardo's katana tightly with an appreciative and friendly smile directed at Leonardo. Then Usagi moved towards Bishop's subordinates, ready to put the sword Leonardo lent him to great use.

**Well...both bad and good things happened in this chapter. But what will happen in the next chapter (which I can't wait to write btw)? Read on to find out! Till then, PLEASE review and have a great day/night!**


	25. Chapter 25

**Anonymous: You will find out what Mikey is doing in this chapter. And...exactly what are your conclusions about Usagi and Leo? I...I hope they're good conclusions...**

**I updated...about two days later than the last one...Hallelujah! Yes! And on 9/11 no less...well, I think we all could use a chapter like this for days like today. Oh and as a heads up, you may want to get a tissue box ready.**

**I don't own TMNT and only Koumori partly. **

Mikey sighed as he walked down the hallway, silent but keeping his eyes peeled for any sign of Usagi. But he saw nothing that gave him a clue to his friend's whereabouts. _Unless…I count that rabbit's foot…_After knocking the Bishop henchman out and putting his clothes on, Mikey had only been walking around in disguise for a minute or so when the alarm started blaring like mad.

Thinking that the alarm was for him, Mikey quickly went into a supply closet-Mikey thanked the stars that it was unlocked-and stayed in there till the alarm finally turned off. When he left the safety of the closet, his eyes grew wide when he saw many unconscious soldiers lying on the floor in front of him. After a few moments of shock and wondering what the heck happened, Mikey shook his head and continued his search, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. But after a few more minutes of just walking, Mikey's helmet, which had been uncomfortable ever since Mikey had put it on, just became too uncomfortable.

So Mikey shrank to the wall and when he made sure no one would see him, Mikey took off his helmet and had the scare of his life when he saw the rabbit's foot inside the helmet. Remembering that Usagi was a rabbit, he threw it away, thoroughly disgusted and horrified. But no sooner than he did, he realized that the foot very well could belong to Usagi. Even though he knew the rabbit foot was probably just the soldier's lucky charm put in a really weird place, Mikey picked up the rabbit foot and put it in his pocket before going back to finding Usagi.

_Well…things could be worse I guess. Somehow, no one is after me and heck, I haven't even seen anyone yet…maybe they all got knocked out. By who though? Intruders like me or prisoners like Usagi who escape and now are part of a big and epic prison break? Either way, I have to find Usagi and hope that his foot didn't get cut off. As well as hope that my luck holds. _Right at that moment, Mikey heard someone calling his name. And immediately after that, he took off his helmet.

TMNT

Leo sighed in relief when the last soldier was defeated with a sound whack from the katana he had given Usagi. _We stopped them before they could call reinforcements…thank goodness that we have some luck on our side. Speaking of which…_

"Are you two alright?" asked Usagi as he turned towards Leo and April. Leo smiled slightly and nodded. He had given Usagi one of his katanas because he could tell the rabbit was a fighter and Leo didn't want him to be defenseless. But when Leo saw how the rabbit fought with the grace of an eagle and the determination of an honorable warrior, Leo's respect for him grew tremendously.

"Yeah," muttered April as she bit her bottom lip and closed her eyes. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" asked Leo with concern as he got beside her, not believing April's last statement. April sighed before opening her eyes, which was full of disappointment.

"I have been mentally searching for him since we found Usagi, but I can't sense him anywhere near here," she admitted sadly with a soft tone. "Of course, my psychic range isn't far at all so he should still be in this facility but…I was really hoping that he was close by."

Leo didn't have to ask who he was. Leo sighed in regret and in understanding, because he also wished that they were very close to Koumori. _If you are not here Koumori…then where in this forsaken underground lair are you? And where are you, Raph, Donnie, and Casey? And…and where are you Mikey? _

"Did you come here to rescue someone?" Usagi asked with sincere concern in his voice.

"Yes…" confirmed Leonardo with a curt nod. "But we can't seem to find…wait. You were about to tell us something earlier before we were attacked. What is it?" _Maybe…just maybe it's a clue to help us find Koumori or my brothers and Casey…_ Usagi then breathed in deeply, like the news he was about to reveal was indeed very important.

"You see…"

"It…It can't be!" interrupted April with her hands over her mouth and her blue eyes wide with shock and disbelief.

"What April? What is it?!" exclaimed Leo worriedly. _What is it now?_

"I…I sense him! I really do sense him!" exclaimed April happily as she took her hands off her mouth and her eyes began to glisten with unshed tears.

"You sense Koumori?!" exclaimed Leo, hope and relief rising within his weary heart.

"Koumori?!" cried Usagi like he knew that name but did not expect to hear it at this moment. But before Leo could ponder on Usagi's response, April answered his question.

"No, Mikey! I sense Mikey! He's here! He's in this building! Mikey is really here, in our dimension and he's alive!" _April can sense…can sense Mikey?_

"Michelangelo is here in this building?!" Usagi cried again. Leo was too stunned to even notice that a practical stranger knew the full name of his baby brother. _Mikey is alive…and he's here…and nearby…_

"I know it sounds crazy, but…" April, with tears of joy falling down her face, had managed to say before Leo grabbed her by the shoulders and turned her so that they were looking at each other face to face.

"Where?" he asked bluntly as his heart began to pound heavily and his spirit began to feel just a bit lighter. "Where is he?"

"Over there…" answered April as she pointed to the right. Without waiting to see if she was going to say anything else, Leo ran in that direction like his life depended on it. Which in a way to Leo, it did.

"Wait Leo! I still have to lead you to him!" cried April as he turned and left the prison hall. But Leo had been waiting to see his beloved baby brother for two weeks now. Now that he knew that Mikey was alive and was way less than a mile away, Leonardo just couldn't wait anymore.

"MIIIIIIIIKEEEEEEYYYYY!" Leo yelled as he ran, not caring if a villain heard him. For a second, there was no wonderful reply, only deadpan silence. Then suddenly, came the most beautiful sound in the world.

"LEEEEEEEOOOOOOOO!" Leo couldn't help but joyfully laugh as he ran even faster. _That's Mikey's voice! That's his voice!_

"MIIIIIIIKEEEYYYY!" cried Leo as he reached the end of the hallway where Mikey's voice came from. _I'm almost there…I'm about to see Mikey again!_

"LEEEEEEOOOOO!" Leo heard Mikey shout. Leo skidded to a stop, but not because there was a wall right in front of him. Because Mikey sounded like he was really, really close. Leo turned to his left and saw a heavenly sight. His dear baby brother, Hamato Michelangelo, was right there and running towards him with a giant and bright smile on his face.

"MIKEY!" Leo cried with a great and euphoric grin plastered on his own face as he turned and ran towards the orange-masked turtle.

"LEO!" Mikey cried as he ran even faster towards Leo. Then, when they were only a few feet away, Mikey leapt towards him, his arms wide open. Leo instantly held his arms wide open as well and in one long but glorious second, the Mikey had landed into his lovely embrace.

The force of Mikey's leap made Leo fall to the ground but Leo didn't even notice that he had even fell, let alone if he had felt any pain in his bottom. All he was aware of was the fact that Mikey, a brother that Leo had once thought he was never going to see again, was with him again. And even if he had felt any pain, Leo wouldn't have cared one single bit. All he cared about was hugging Mikey like he was the most precious treasure in the multiverse. Which, at least at that moment, Mikey was the most precious treasure in the multiverse.

"You…you really are alive…," stuttered Leo through his joyful tears as he kissed the top of Mikey's head a couple of times.

"And you really are okay…" replied Mikey as he hugged Leo tighter and snuggled against his chest. "I…I missed you guys so bad…"

"And we missed _you_ something awful," stated Leo with all of his heart which was now threatening to burst out of his chest and fly around in happiness.

"I'm sorry about that… but…," said Mikey as he looked up at Leo, happy tears falling out of his baby blue eyes like a waterfall.

"Sorry for what? It wasn't your fault that Bishop transported you with that gun!" Leo interrupted him, alarmed that Mikey would blame himself for their separation. _It's mine…_

"Oh, so that's what happened…" murmured Mikey in realization. Then he gave Leo a comforting grin, almost like he could read Leo's thoughts. "So it's Bishop's fault that I got sent away huh?" Though he didn't say it, Leo could hear the subtext as clear as a bright cloudless sky: _I don't blame you bro._

"But I'm back now…" said Mikey with his familiar bright smile. "I'm back! I'm really back!" And then for the first time in weeks, Leo's guilt left him as light and soothing peace filled his soul. The heavy and guilt-laden burden that Leo had made himself carry on his shoulders finally left his shoulders. And once again, Leo felt confidence in himself. Once again, he felt hopeful that everything really will turn out alright.

"Yes you are Mikey," assured Leo as he squeezed Mikey even tighter and planted one more kiss on the top of his little brother's head. "Yes you are." They stayed like that for what seemed like an eternity to Leo. And he loved every bit of it.

**WAAAAHHHHHHHHH! I'm so happy! Yay! While this fanfic isn't over yet...I do think things are definitely looking up...so what will happen next? Well silly, I'm not telling you! You have to read the next chapter to find out! So till then, please tell me what you thought (don't worry, I can never get tired of reviews) and have a great day/night. And...may we never forget what happened on 9/11, but yet find the courage to move on.**


	26. Chapter 26

**Guest: Why thank you! That post made me very happy:)**

**I don't own TMNT and only Koumori partly. **

April waited patiently as Mikey and Leo continued their reunion in the middle of the hallway, though her fingers did repeatedly tap on her arm. She and Usagi had followed after the racing Leonardo and when they had finally caught up to him, he was crying and hugging Mikey like there was no tomorrow. While April wanted to hug Mikey like there was no tomorrow too, she controlled herself since she knew Leo needed this more than she did. Usagi also seemed to understand that the brothers needed their alone time since he silently turned around and stood guard with a smile.

April also kept a watch for any soldiers past the soldiers but luckily, even though Mikey and Leo weren't even trying to be quiet, no bad guy came. _And good thing too, or else I would have tanned their hide if they even as much as tried to interrupt this heartbreaking reunion…oh gosh, I still can hardly believe that Mikey is truly back…but here he is. Safe and sound in his brother's arms._

"April!" Mikey cried, breaking April out of her thoughts. She turned her gaze to Mikey and saw that he had finally left his Leo's arms and was going towards her, his arms wide open. Without a moment's hesitation, April raced into her dear friend's arms, new and fresh tears of joy running down her face.

"Mikey!" cried April when she wrapped her arms around the orange-masked turtle, her heart feeling like it was going to burst at any moment. _And now he is safe and sound in my arms…miracles really do happen…_

"So…did ya miss me?" asked Mikey in a teasing tone that made April chuckle.

"Oh tons and tons! Did you miss me?"

"Oh heck yes!" exclaimed Mikey, his baby eyes full of life as he happily looked at her. _And here I thought I was never going to see those eyes again…_April squeezed her friend tighter as she placed her face in the crook of his neck, feeling happier than she had been in a really long time. After a few moments of peaceful euphoria, Leo joined the hug by wrapping his arms around them both and pulling them close.

"Looks like our family is finally starting to get back together," said Leo with a peaceful smile.

"Yeah…wait a minute!" cried Mikey as he straightened up like he had been shocked. "Where are Donnie, Raph, and Casey?! And…_why _are you guys here anyway?" _That's right, he doesn't know Koumori…wait a second…_

"Raph and the others are around here somewhere and we all are here to rescue a friend…wait! Why are _you _here?!" exclaimed Leo, his blue eyes lit with realization.

"Ah!" shrieked Mikey as he shot straight up, breaking up their hug. "I totally forgot about Usagi! He needs to be rescued too!" April's eyes widened in shock at the use of Usagi's name. And she would have exclaimed her shock if a certain rabbit hadn't spoke at that moment.

"I'm right here Michelangelo-san." They turned around to see Usagi waving his hand slightly at Mikey with a smile on his face.

"Y-you…" Leo managed to stutter before Mikey interrupted as he ran up to the rabbit samurai.

"Usagi! Oh thank the stars!" he cried as he gave the startled Usagi a breath-taking hug. "And you have both feet!"

"Uh…do I want to know why you said that?" asked Usagi a bit wary though he did return Mikey's hug.

"No," answered Mikey bluntly with a firm shake of his head. Then he gasped as he broke out of the hug and reached inside of his uniform and took out two swords. "Here are your swords! That Bishop guy left them behind along with that _disturbing _note." Mikey then shivered as if remembering an unpleasant memory.

"Why…"

"Okay hold up hold up!" exclaimed Leo waving his hands as he stood up. "You two…know each other?" April did not blame Leo for being confused or freaking out just a little bit. April was shocked that the turtle mutant and rabbit mutant knew each other as well. _When…when did this happen?!_

"Oh right! Leo and April this is Usagi," introduced Mikey with a hand motioning towards the rabbit behind him.

"Actually Michelangelo-san, we al…"

"And he saved my life when I fell in the river in his world and got sick with a fever!" continued Mikey like he didn't hear Usagi speak.

"You mean…he…you were…" Leo stuttered, looking totally stunned as April felt. _Usagi…is from the world Mikey got transported to? And he saved Mikey?_

"Yeah and if that wasn't enough, he vowed to bring me back home! And he did! He even got hurt fighting the Ultimate Ninja while doing so! We…just got separated for a bit and so you see, why I just to rescue him when I found out he got kidnapped. Because he's the best and I owe him!" Mikey finished explaining, looking a bit sheepishly towards the end. _Usagi…is this what you wanted to tell us earlier? That you saved Mikey and he was here in our world?_

"Ah…you don't owe me anything Michelangelo-san," mumbled Usagi as his face became a very bright red and he brought his ears down to hide his face.

"He may not but I do," Leo stated. April turned her head to face him and saw that he was no longer shock, instead very grateful.

"If it wasn't for you, Mikey wouldn't be here now," continued the blue-masked turtle as he walked towards Usagi and Mikey. "And the rest of my family and I probably wouldn't have saw him ever again, let alone reunite with him. And I would have felt anguish, pain, regret, and guilt for the rest of my life simply because I had lost my baby brother."

"Leo…" said Mikey softly, his freckled face wearing a stunned expression and his eyes wide with shock. Leo smiled sweetly at him as he laid his arm over Mikey's shoulders before facing Usagi again.

"But here he is, right here beside and it is all because of you. And there is nothing I can say or do that can repay the great thing you have done." With those words, Leo took his arm off of Mikey's shoulders and bowed towards Usagi (who had let his long ears go), his hands straight at his side as he did so.

April couldn't help but chuckle when Usagi blushed so hard that his face became the color of a beet. His fingers twitched like he wanted to pull his ears over his face again but he didn't. And because of that, April could see that while Usagi was really embarrassed, he was also really touched.

"And that goes for me too," April added as she bowed to Usagi from where she was. "And I'm pretty sure the others, once they find out that Mikey is here because of you, will feel the same."

"Aah…" stammered Usagi sheepishly as he scratched the back of his head. "You guys did break me out of the cell…oh, did I hear you say that you were searching for Koumori earlier?"

"Yes…do you know where he is?" questioned April eagerly, feeling especially hopeful this time. _Usagi was a prisoner so maybe he knows...or maybe since they are from the same world…_

"Unfortunately no, but I do know him from my own world," answered Usagi.

"Ah, that's why the name sounded so familiar! He's Lord Kyou's missing son!" exclaimed Mikey with realization. _Mikey met Koumori's Father? Oh, the poor bat must be so worried…_

"Exactly. And since we had a feeling that Mikey's appearance in my world and Koumori's sudden disappearance were tied, I promised Lord Kyou that I would bring his son home if he was in this world," Usagi further explained. "So can I help you rescue him? Or if you prefer…help me rescue him?"

"Of course!" exclaimed Leo with a laugh. "Definitely!"

"Then let's go!" cried Mikey with a raised arm and a finger pointing straight at the ceiling like he was the leader or perhaps a motivational speaker. "Let's go reunite with Donnie, Raph, and Casey and rescue Koumori!"

"I agree…" Then suddenly there was a loud click before a booming voice interrupted April and filled the air with tension.

"Hamato Leonardo and April O'Neil." The unfamiliar man's conniving voice that was clearing coming from an intercom was so full of arrogance and evil that shivers went up April's spine. _Is…is this…_

"Bishop…" whispered Leonardo. _So I was right…this is Agent Bishop._

"I have captured your two brothers and your human friend," continued Agent Bishop's voice. April's heart immediately skipped a beat and her blood froze. _Oh no…_

"No…" said Mikey softly, his eyes and face full of fear and worry.

"So if I were you two, I would surrender myself to the nearest guards as possible," Agent Bishop said over the intercom. "Or…or you will miss the fun." Bishop let out a short laugh before they heard the click of the intercom turning off. For a long and tense moment, no one spoke.

"What are we going to do?" asked Mikey quietly, clearly still scared. April bit her lip as her heart raced with terror. _What are we going to do?! We can't lose Donnie, Raph, and Casey! But we just got Mikey back…wait._

"Leo…Agent Bishop only said your name and my name right?" April asked, hope calming her terrified heart. Leo, who looked horrified ever since Bishop stated that he had his brothers and friend, now had a sense of calm about him.

"Yes. Yes he did," stated Leo with a relieved and hopeful smile. April smiled back knowingly at him. _Bishop doesn't know that Mikey is here! Or that we broke Usagi out of the cell!_

"Do you have a plan Leonardo-san?" asked Usagi with a smile, making it clear to April that he realized the same thing they did.

"Of course he did! He's _my_ big brother and _our_ leader!" stated Mikey proudly, no more fear in his voice. Then he turned to Leo. "So…what is the plan? How are we going to save our bros and Casey?" For a moment, Leo didn't answer, his face full of concentration as he looked at Mikey. Then the moment was over and Leo's face wore a confident smile before he answered his little brother.

"You bet I do."

**Hope is still here guys...and the bromance between Leo and Usagi has been born:) Now, what is the plan? Will Donnie, Raph, Casey, and Koumori be rescued? Where is Koumori? What exactly is Bishop's goal? Find out in the next chapter (or the chapter after that)! Till then, please feed the author by reviewing (don't be shy) and have a great day/night!**


	27. Chapter 27

**Cartoonlover2016: Why thank you very berry much! :) I am very pleased/glad to know that I did a good job with Usagi (because he is also one of my favorite characters in the TMNT verse) and that you thought my story was/is amazing! And don't worry, I will keep updating!**

**I don't own TMNT. And only Koumori partly. As usual (does anyone read this btw?!).**

Raph groaned as he gained consciousness, his head blazing with pain. _Ugh, what happened…_Then suddenly, Raph's memory of their capture returned. The red-masked turtle opened his green eyes with a gasp. He found himself strapped in a spread-eagle fashion to an upright stretcher in a room that was obviously a lab with all the beakers filled with colorful chemicals lining the shelves and the many instruments like small knives on the table.

But Raphael hardly wasted a second on these things as he scanned the room for the two of the most important people in his life. Less than two seconds later, he found Casey strapped to a chair who was awake and looked alright, besides the small purple bruise on his forehead. Deciding that Casey was fine for now, Raph turned to his left and saw Donnie tied to a raised stretcher, who also had his red-brown eyes closed and a giant blue and dark green bruise on the side of his head. Before the protective brother could growl, he heard a voice from his right side.

"Raph, you're awake!" Raph started and in an instant, he turned his head to the right. Sure enough, the voice belonged to Koumori. The shape-shifter was in his boy form and he was also strapped an in spread-eagle fashion to an upright stretcher. Koumori's face showed relief and concern for Raph while also wearing a brave expression. Bravery that betrayed the terror in Koumori's brown eyes.

"About time sleeping beauty," said Casey with a wry smile as he finally looked in Raph's direction.

"Koumori are you alright?" asked Raph, deciding to ignore his impudent human friend for now.

"Uh-huh," replied Koumori with a firm nod. "Are you?" Raph then chuckled at Koumori's selflessness, even though the situation they were in was not funny at all. _But at least he's alright…_

"Yeah, I'm alright." Raph then studied the room to find out that the four of them were not alone. There were also four people in long white lab-coats (one was a woman and three were men) with them and they doing various things like writing in clipboards and checking the strange unrecognizable machines by the walls.

"Ugh…ow…" Raph heard a familiar someone groan. The second-eldest brother quickly turned his head to his left and with relief saw that his little brother had now opened his eyes.

"Wha…Raph! Casey!" Donnie cried when the confusion left his face.

"I'm right here Don," assured Raph, which caused Donnie to face towards him with a mixed expression of both relief and worry in his eyes.

"And don't forget about me," Casey chimed in. "And Koumori is over there."

"Hi Donnie, I'm glad you're finally awake too!" added Koumori who lifted his head so Donnie could see him. More relief settled into Donnie's eyes and he opened his mouth to talk.

"Ah, so everyone is awake," said a familiar and detestable voice. "Good." Raph then faced the front to find that Bishop was now in the room, the door closing quietly behind him.

"Bishop…" Raph growled as his heart began to race with rage at the mere sight of the agent. _Mikey may be back…but we actually haven't gotten him back yet. And Bishop is the one who took him away from us in the first place. From me._

"Now now Raph, save your anger for a better occasion," reprimanded Bishop with a smirk. As soon as he said that, the door opened behind him. And who walked through the door made fury in Raph's heart get replaced by icy cold fear.

"Like now," continued Bishop as Leo and April walked into the lab, each one with a guard with a gun behind them.

"No!" cried Donnie as two guards pushed Leo and April into the room with their guns.

"April! Leo!" cried both Koumori and Casey. Raph's blood began to freeze as Leo and April were forced on their knees by the hateful guards, their hands still tied behind their backs. _They…they got captured too…_

"Koumori!" replied April, total relief in her blue eyes. "You're alright!"

"Silent wench!" exclaimed the guard behind her as he hit her back with the nuzzle of his gun. Raph's fury instantly came back and it was so great that it made his blood boil. _Sure, he might have hit her somewhat lightly, but he still hit her! And I'm tired of my family getting hurt by these guys! I swear, once I get off this stretcher, I will take both of these guards and…wait, why does that guard behind Leo look familiar? _

"April!" cried Koumori, anger and concern in his voice.

"Why you…" growled Donnie before his eyes grew just a tiny bit wide with recognition. And he was looking right at that guard behind Leo. Raph looked at the guard again, trying to figure out why this man in uniform, complete with a face-covering helmet, looked so familiar to him and Donnie. Then, like a lightbulb turning on, Raph knew who the guard was. _I didn't see him with his helmet on but…that's Mikey! That is definitely Mikey!_

"It's okay Don, I'm fine," said April in a sincerely assuring tone, her eyes holding no trace of fear or pain. _It's all an act…Leo and April aren't kidnapped, they're going to trick Bishop and rescue us! So…I gotta stay calm and pretend like I know nothing. _Even so, Raph had to use every bit of his self-control to not fight against his metal restraints so that he could break free and hug his baby brother and never let go. But he knew that it would probably ruin the plan Leo and the others had so Raph stayed quiet and motionless, choosing to glare at Bishop instead.

"While I do appreciate your enthusiasm, please refrain yourself from hurting her anymore. I want to observe April's body in its most pristine condition," reprimanded Bishop. Bishop's words, along with the disturbing evil edge he spoke them with, instantly made Raph like he wanted to throw up. _Well…it's definitely not hard to glare at him now._

"You're…you're sick," Casey muttered, a disturbed expression on his face. Bishop only laughed.

"Oh, if you think that's sick, you should hear what I have planned for you." It was slight, but Raph saw Mikey sidestepped to the right, in the direction of a machine with a bunch of knobs and buttons. _Pretend you don't see it...just focus your attention on Bishop…_

"And what is that?" Leo asked Bishop with a slight growl. "What is your plan? Why did you ask for us trade April for the gun when you could have just kidnapped her along with Koumori?! Why be willing to bargain with us if you could have taken all of us down easily?! What do you hope to gain from all of this?!" Bishop faced Leo with a smile that sent shivers up Raph's spine. And for several seconds, he didn't speak, making the air so tense that someone could've cut it with a butter knife.

"To create the perfect soldier." The air was immediately was filled with so much shock that for a second Raph couldn't breathe. The red-masked turtle had many theories about Bishop's true intentions but a perfect soldier had never entered his mind.

"What?" Donnie finally asked, sounding just as shocked as Raph felt. When Bishop turned to face him, Mikey took another quiet step to the left. _That's it Mikey, be the great ninja that you are and do your thing…_

"What, is it really so surprising that I would want to create the perfect soldier that can protect the people of Earth from alien invasion?" Bishop asked incredulously. Mikey took another step towards the machine and so far Bishop had yet to notice.

"But…why do you need us to do this?!" exclaimed Raph, not only because he wanted to know, but because he wanted to keep Bishop's eyes away from his dear brother. "How in the world does sending Mikey to another dimension and kidnapping Koumori help you to accomplish this?!" Mikey took another small step towards his goal.

"Because…all of you are interesting specimen," admitted Bishop. "Except for Mr. Jones, he is just a regular human whose memory I plan on erasing in a few minutes."

"Whaat?!" screamed Casey, Raph, April, and Donnie all at once. Mikey, who Raph could see was about to take another step, stopped in horror and shock.

"Why would you do that?!" protested Koumori. "Wait you can do that?"

"Yeah, seriously dude why?! I don't want to lose my memories!" exclaimed Casey.

"Yes Koumori, I can do exactly that. And please, don't be so dramatic Casey. I won't be erasing your entire memory, just everything that has to do with April, Koumori, and the turtles. Since you are a full-on human, I don't need you here so I am granting you the sweet gift of freedom but with the cost of ignorance. After all, I can't have you remembering where my secret base is, can't I?"

"No…no! I don't want to forget! I don't want to forget Red and my friends! I don't want to forget about the many adventures I had with them! I won't! I can't!" Casey cried desperately. Despite himself, Raph felt touched by Casey's sincere words. _Casey, don't worry, Mikey is here and he is going to save us. And he will save your memories._

"You can and you will," replied Bishop, his voice as cold as ice. Mikey took another step towards the machine, but it didn't take a genius to know that he was still pretty far away from it. _Gotta buy Mikey time…gotta buy him time before we lose Casey!_

"So what about the rest of us?!" Raph exclaimed, his green eyes glaring at Bishop so hard that he was kind of surprised that the man wasn't on fire.

"Yeah, how do the rest of us fit into this plan?" asked Donnie, like he knew what Raph was trying to do. Which Raph figured he probably did. As Bishop smiled at the two turtle brothers, he didn't notice Mikey taking another step sideways behind him.

"Let's see…ah, first off, what I said on the USB that the gun could have brought your brother if you shot Koumori was a big fat lie," said Bishop with the pleased tone only villains had. Raph's heart skipped a beat. _You mean…if Mikey hadn't somehow gotten here by himself…we never would have saw him again?! _As Raph's wish to kick Bishop's butt grew stronger every second, Mikey took another step.

"Then…then why…" Leo started to stutter before Bishop interrupted him.

"For the same reason why I chose to test the gun on your little brother. For the same reason why I said I wanted to bargain with you. For the same reason why I kidnapped Koumori. The same reason why I didn't just capture you all right away." As Bishop started to monologue, Mikey took another step. _That's it Mikey, keep it up. Leave it to us to keep Bishop talking._

"I wanted to see how you would react." For once in his life, Raph was so stunned that he didn't know how to feel or what to think. _Wha…what? _Then Bishop continued.

"I wanted to see how much anger, desperation, loyalty, love, sorrow, courage, protectiveness, determination, and fear you mutants processed. And I must say, I wasn't disappointed! You mutants acted so much like humans that even I had a small moment that I thought you all were something more than animals."

"So…are you telling me that everything that you had put us through…was just an _experiment_?!" yelled Leo, a rare anger flaring in his eyes. And Raph didn't blame him one bit.

After all, if it wasn't for the fact that Mikey was there in the room and was definitely going to save them, Raph would fought against his metal shackles till they broke just so he could wrap his hands around that monster's neck and squeeze hard. And even then, Raph could barely control himself. _Animals__?! And do you know much pain Leo, Donnie, Master Splinter, April, and Casey were in?! How much pain I was in?! How dare you belittle that and delight in it! We are not the animals, you are!_

"Yes. And I really did wanted to see if the Inkheart could exchange an animal here for an alien from a different dimension. Which brings us to Koumori, who managed to get away from me that fateful night," Bishop continued. Raph risked a glance at Mikey, who was now much closer to the machine that would most likely release them from their shackles. _Almost there Mikey, you can do it, I believe in you…_

"I wanted him from the start, but I knew your ties to him would definitely not be as close as your ties to April. So I bargained for April and kidnapped this lovely alien specimen, because I knew whether you gave me April or you all tried to save Koumori, I would get both specimens. Both specimens that act so much like humans that must have the DNA I need to create a perfect soldier that would create the perfect peace and order Earth desperately needs." _This…this is just so crazy that I can hardly understand it…Bishop is crazy..._

"And don't worry, I plan to dissect you three turtles too, as well as that humanoid I caught earlier tonight. I am looking forward to see how all of your organs and bodily functions are similar or different to humans." And there it was, Bishop's plan and true intentions for Raph and his family.

And somehow, even though Raph was disgusted and horrified at the thought of his mutant loved ones being dissected by this mad man, he wasn't really surprised. Raph knew deep down that this is what Bishop wanted to do to do them ever since they read what was on the USB drive. And Raph had a feeling he wasn't the only one.

"You're sick," insulted Donnie, managing to look sick and give Agent Bishop the death glare at the same time. "Even if you could create a perfect soldier from…_experimenting_ on us, you can't guarantee that you could create peace and order! Heck, knowing you, the only way you can accomplish it is if you first create wide-spread fear and destruction!"

"Which I am completely fine with Donatello," replied Bishop. "But enough talk. Scientists, bring out the other two stretchers so that the guards can strap Leo and April to them. I want all of them to see their friend Casey lose his memories before seeing me do my first experiment on Donatello."

Before Raphael or anyone could panic, protest, or scream, a new voice spoke. A voice that was so familiar to Raphael. A voice that Raphael hadn't heard in two weeks, which frankly felt like forever to him. A wonderful voice which Raph had once thought he would never hear again.

"Not if I have anything to say about it Bishop!" cried Mikey, his baby blue eyes blazing with fury and determination as he stood beside the machine, his helmet lying by his feet. Then Mikey slammed down a red button.

**:) I...I have nothing to say except: The climax is finally here! And it is going to be awesome! So...how was Bishop's monologue? Did it show how demented and evil he is? Or was it just way too long? How was everything else in this chapter? Please review (with a cherry on top) and I will update soon:) So till then, have a great day/night!**

**P.S. Just to warn you...there are only a few chapters left (like at the most, three). It's been a blast writing this!**


	28. Chapter 28

**Cartoonlover2016-Here you go! I hope this chapter is up to your expectations and that some questions have been answered. And I am really glad you love this story and that I wrote the last chapter/Bishop's evilness well! Thank you:)**

**I don't own TMNT and only Koumori partly.**

Instantly the shackles that held Donnie prisoner opened, causing him to slide down to the ground. And a quick glance showed that the same thing happened to Raph and Koumori. Mikey pushing that button even freed Casey from his shackles, who had immediately stood up like the chair was on fire. Which Donnie didn't blame him, since Bishop was going to make Casey suffer memory-loss in that chair. But now that definitely wasn't going to happen, and it was all because of Donnie's beloved little brother Mikey.

"What the heck?!" exclaimed Bishop, sounding shocked and alarmed for the first time since Donnie knew him. As the other guard surprisingly cut Leo's and April's bonds and gave them their weapons back, Bishop had a glaring contest with Mikey. "You weren't supposed to ever come back!" Before Donnie could growl at that horrible sentence, Leo attacked Bishop like he was a ferocious lion and Bishop was a defenseless gazelle.

"But he came back, and I will never allow him to leave again!" declared Leo as Bishop barely dodged Leo's twin katana. _And neither will I! _Then at the corner of his eye, Donnie saw a scared scientist hurry towards a green button covered by a glass case on the wall. _Trying to sound alarm huh? I don't think so! _Donnie than rans towards the scientist, catching up to him by only a matter of seconds.

"You tell him Leo!" exclaimed Raph as he made another scientist lose consciousness by only one punch. Donatello then swiftly kicked the side of his target's head, knocking the scientist out cold before he could even reach the alarm.

"I am so sorry April-san!" Curious by the new voice, Donnie turned his head and saw that other guard was actually a mutant rabbit and he looked very apologetic and guilty. "I'm sorry that I hit you and called you a wench! I was only playing the part of the typical bad guard!"

"Don't worry Usagi, you did great," said April as she faced off the female scientist who had a fire extinguisher in her hands. "And besides, you didn't hit me very hard at all." Donnie looked at the mutant rabbit before shrugging his shoulders. _He did but Leo's and April's bonds and gave them their weapons back…I figure out who this Usagi is and pay him back for hitting April later. Right now, I got to fight and make sure we all get out of here alive!_

With that in mind, Donnie quickly looked around the room, his brown-red eyes taking everything in without a problem. Usagi was now helping Leo fight Bishop with his two swords while April just knocked out the female scientist with a knock on the back of the head. Koumori was wisely hiding beneath the stretcher he was on, though he did loudly cheer everyone on. Raph and Casey were fighting the two remaining scientists with their own bare hands without much difficulty. _I should help Leo and…Usagi fight Bishop but I need to find my bo-staff, as well as Raph's and Casey's weapons…wait! Where's Mikey?!_

"Ah-ha! Found them!" Donnie turned around and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Mikey was behind him, an opened closet behind him and a box full of weapons in his hands. _Oh thank goodness, he's alright…hey! Our weapons!_

"Here's your bo-staff Donnie!" exclaimed Mikey proudly as he took out the bo-staff and held it out to Don. Suddenly Donnie had the overwhelming desire to hug Mikey, who was only a few feet or so away from him. However, they were in a middle of an important battle and Donnie knew if he hugged his baby brother, he would not have the strength to let go again.

"Thanks little bro," Donnie finally said as he took his bo-staff out of Mikey's hand. As he did so, Donnie noticed that Mikey's eyes were full of longing. The purple-masked turtle didn't have to ponder for more than a millisecond to know what Mikey was longing for.

"Don't worry Mikey," added Donnie as he put one hand on the top of Mikey's head. _I can feel him…this really isn't some wonderful dream…Mikey really is back. _"We will reunite better as soon as we get outta here. Now get Raph and Casey their weapons back." Immediately, the longing to hug left Mikey's eyes.

"Aye aye Captain!" exclaimed Mikey who instantly left Donnie and headed towards Raph and Casey. Donnie looked at the hand that had touched the brother he hadn't seen in two weeks and smiled. Then he took a big, steadying breath and rushed towards Bishop, bo-staff swirling and his focusing just about all of his attention on the villain.

When Donnie was close enough, he swung his weapon at Bishop's head, who was defending himself well, despite that April had also joined the fray. To his surprise, Bishop ducked gracefully and leapt backwards, causing for Donnie's bo-staff to clash with Leo's katanas, Usagi's swords, and April's tessen. _Darn it…_

"Goongala!" screamed Casey as he hit a puck with his hockey stick, said puck flying right at Bishop's chest. In an instant, Bishop drew a knife from his belt and threw it at the puck, slicing it into two equal halves.

"So finally, it's four against one," Bishop murmured, an unreadable expression on his face.

"No, six against one!" yelled Raph as he left Mikey's side and leapt at Bishop, his sai directed at him. Donnie, as well as Leo, Mikey, April, Casey, and Usagi, rushed towards them to help Raph as Bishop rapidly untied his tie and used it to block Raph's attack. Bishop then twist the sai, making Raph lose his grip on them before kicking Donnie's immediate older brother in the stomach.

Raph was sent flying into Usagi, both of them crashing to the ground as a result. Then at the same time, Donnie, his two brothers, and his two friends attacked Bishop with fierce determination. But it soon became clear, no matter how relentless their unmerciful assault was, and even though Raph and Usagi soon recovered and reentered the fight again, they weren't gaining any ground against Bishop.

Whether it was by his tie or by the various pieces of lab equipment still lying about, Agent Bishop just fought them off like he was only fighting against one person instead six. But Donnie noticed with grim satisfaction that Bishop wasn't gaining any ground against them either. _There are just too many of us and all of us are reasonably skilled, including that rabbit. It's only a matter of time before he gets tired and makes a mistake …but how long is a matter of time? It's a miracle that no guards haven't heard the commotion and come in here, but that miracle may not last for very long._

"Just give up Bishop," pressured Leo as he and the others continued fighting. "You may be a great fighter, but we greatly outnumber you and _all _of us aren't going to stop fighting till you are defeated." At the corner of his eye, Donnie saw something black move upwards.

"I can see that," answered Bishop as he continued defending himself and making offensive moves that they just managed to block. "And while there have been hiccups in my plans, such as being too concentrated on you and your team to not notice Michelangelo sneaking in, I will win." Despite himself, Donnie gave in to his curiosity and glance at the black thing, which was not above Bishop's head. Donnie had to use all of his self-control to not gasp when he realize what it was.

"Because I can never be outclassed," continued Bishop as he fought, oblivious to what Donnie was seeing. _What is he doing?_

"What do you mean by that?" asked Koumori innocently, like he wasn't flying right above Agent Bishop's head. As Bishop looked upwards, Koumori changed from his bat form to his turtle form. And before the human villain could react, the little alien landed right on his face, shell first. Donnie and the others immediately stopped fighting as both Koumori and Bishop crashed to the ground, Koumori still on top of Bishop's face.

For a moment, only stunned silence filled the air. Then Koumori changed into his human form and got up, his manner excited and happy. And Bishop continued to lay there, a huge red mark on his face (Donnie could see the beginnings of a nasty bruise) and his eyes closed and body motionless.

"Did you see that April, Usagi, everyone? I made him go to sleep," said Koumori proudly as he ran up to April. It was only did Donnie breathe a sigh of relief, as well as chuckle in unbelief and jollity. _So that's what Koumori was doing…he knocked out Bishop…he actually knocked out Bishop! I can't…wait. Why is Koumori acting like he knows Usagi well?_

"Yes, yes I did! You were great Koumori!" laughed April as she picked up the little boy and swung him around before hugging him. "You were terrific!"

"You acted just like an honorable and brave warrior," added Usagi, wearing a proud and relieved smile on his face.

"Um…can we continue this outside? I want to get out of here before Bishop has another chance to erase my memories," interrupted Casey, some anxiety and nervousness still on his face.

"And I don't want to give Bishop another chance to dissect Donnie either," stated Raph, a bit of dark expression on his face as if he was reminded of an unpleasant memory. Donnie couldn't help but shudder. _Me neither…and besides, I got a promise to keep…a promise that I want to fulfill as soon as possible…_

"Then without further ado, let's get out of here!" ordered Leo, one of his katana pointing to the ceiling like the leaders in the movies. Then Leo headed towards the door, Donnie and the rest right behind him. As they exited the room and stealthily ran through the hallways, Donnie's became more apprehensive and impatient. _Almost there…we're almost there…_

Lady Luck must have been on their side because they didn't see or even hear a single guard by the time they were within a feet of the staircase and elevator. Donnie wondered if it was because their route to the elevator was quite short (Mikey had a map of the place in his stolen uniform) or if the guards were just simply incompetent. Either way, he wasn't going to complain.

"What the heck?!" Donnie looked behind them and saw Agent Knight staring at them in shock with a few of the guards. _I just had to wonder did I?_

"Ignore them, just go!" ordered Leo as he opened the door leading to the staircase. April, holding Koumori tightly, immediately went pass him.

"I don't know how all of you got out, but we will not let you…oof!" Suddenly, four pucks in rapid succession hit Knight and the guards. And the fact that the pucks exploded upon impact was also a key point in making Agent Knight shut up.

"Sorry Leo, I needed some payback _and _he was getting on my nerves," apologized Casey as Mikey and Usagi ran pass Leo into the staircase.

"Whatever, just go!" exclaimed Leo, who sincerely looked like he didn't care that Casey disobeyed him. When Donnie saw that Casey was running towards the staircase again, he too ran past Leo and up the staircase. Within a few seconds, Donnie could hear his two remaining brothers and friend behind him, along as the door slam shut.

And within a quick yet sort-of agonizing minute, Donnie and his family (and Usagi) were on Bishop's lair's rooftop. But unfortunately for an increasingly impatient Donatello, they couldn't stop there. They all jumped to the nearest rooftop and continued running and jumping across rooftops for quite a few minutes, which seemed like forever to Donnie. _Come on, we've go on far enough, let's take a break now…_

"Leo, I think this is far enough," said Raph as he suddenly stopped, a certain tone in his voice that Donnie could relate to. Leo and the others instantly stopped as well, and for a moment, Leo didn't say anything as he searched their surroundings. When it was clear Bishop and his men weren't coming after them, Leo smiled knowingly.

"Al…"

"MIIKEEYY!" screamed both Donnie and Raph immediately as they pounced on their little brother and wrapped their arms around him and each other. _He's here…he's here in my arms…_

"RAAPH! DOONNIIE!" Mikey yelled in returned as he wrapped his own arms around his older brothers. At that exact moment, Donnie lost some control of his body and started to cry and laugh at the same time. _I knew it…I knew that we would get Mikey back. I knew it!_

"Little bro, if you ever do that again, I swear I'll…I'll…" The rest of Raph's threat was then left to imagination as Raph's face crumbled and he dug his face into Mikey's shoulder.

"Don't worry dude, I don't want to leave you guys ever again!" declared Mikey with a shake of his head. "Never ever!" Donnie looked at Mikey and smiled as the purple-masked turtle hugged him even tighter.

Donnie could hardly believe that it was only two weeks ago when his heart was so heavy that he thought his pain would never end. Even when they found out that Mikey didn't die that fateful night, Donnie's pain didn't totally disappear, since the only cure for was to be reunited with his little brother. But now here he was, hugging Mikey and Donnie's heart couldn't be more light and warm from happiness.

"I love you bro," stated Donnie sincerely as he nuzzled the top of Mikey's head. Mikey looked up at him with his special bright blue eyes.

"I love you too." Right then and there, everything was perfect. Everything was right. All simply because Donnie's family was whole again.

**:) :) :) Yay! Now...how will the they (besides Leo, April, and Mikey of course) react to knowing that Usagi saved Mikey? Will they hug him or punch him for hitting April? ;) And what about Mikey's reunion with Master Splinter? Find all this out in the next two (and last) chapters! Till the next chapter, _please _review (it helps me become a better writer and it also just makes me plain happy to read any kind of review) and have a good couple of days! **


	29. Chapter 29

**Cartoonlover2016: I am glad that you are loving this story (including the last chapter) so much, but unfortunately, all things must come to an end. But at least this story will have a happy end right? In any case, here is the next chapter!**

**I don't own TMNT and only Koumori partly.**

Usagi was not one to cry easily, but just like during Leonardo and Michelangelo's reunion, the rabbit samurai felt tears build up in his eyes. While Usagi did manage not to cry at the heartwarming scene, he did have a very big and happy smile. _Michelangelo-san is back with his brothers…just like he should be. _

"Hey, what about me?!" cried Raphael like he was pretending to be offended.

"Oh, I love you too Raph," laughed Michelangelo as more tears of joy left his eyes.

"Hmm…that's better," said Raphael softly as he gave Michelangelo a nuggie, making his little brother laughed even more as he tried to get Raphael to stop. Usagi couldn't help but chuckle himself as he saw Raphael's obvious display of love and affection.

"Okay that's it, I can't wait anymore! I'm jumping in! Mikey!" proclaimed Casey before he ran and jumped on the three brothers and hugged Michelangelo.

"Casey!" cried Michelangelo as he freed his arms and wrapped it around Casey. "How are you doing bro?"

"Oh you know, kicking bad guys' butts and keeping an eye on everyone. Same ole same ole," answered Casey cheerfully. "Though…it definitely wasn't the same without our pizza-and-Crognard-loving turtle. I'm…really, _really _glad you're back."

"Me too dude," replied Michelangelo. "Me too." Still smiling, Usagi glanced sideways to see that Leonardo and April were looking at the scene, tears in their eyes and with wide joyful grins. Koumori was still being held tightly in April's arms and he was also looking at the scene with a sincere smile while snuggling against April.

"Well, I think it's time that we tell you guys how Mikey was able to come back to us," said Leonardo as he went to the group hug and put his arms around them. Usagi's smile then lowered a bit, feeling apprehensive for what was going to come. _Leonardo-san…do you have to tell them now? I mean, I know they should know what Michelangelo-san has been doing these last two weeks but still…_

"While I do very much want to know that, there is something I want to know first," stated Raphael. Then before Leonardo could respond, Raphael took a deep breath and let it out. "Who is the rabbit mutant?!"

"Yeah, and why haven't we punish him yet for hitting April like that?!" added Casey. Usagi gulped as his apprehension was replaced with guilt.

"And calling her a wench!" pointed out Donatello. Usagi winced like Donatello had slapped him across the face. _Trust me Donatello-san, I did not want to do that but I was afraid that if I didn't, Agent Bishop would suspect something was up…and then our plan would have failed..._

"Or did you guys already do that and we just didn't see it?" asked Raphael.

"Stop it you guys! This is Usagi and we wanted him to play the part of one of the guards!" defended April as she quickly put Koumori down and walked till she was mostly in front of Usagi. "And he did a good job! Really, I'm fine!"

"And besides, he's not a mutant! He's an alien like me!" Koumori pointed out as he changed into a bat and flew towards Usagi.

"Whaaaaat?!" exclaimed Raphael, Donatello, and Casey as Koumori landed on Usagi's shoulder.

"No time no see Koumori-san," Usagi said as he rubbed the top of Koumori's small head with two fingers. "I am glad to see that you are safe and alright."

"Thank you, me too! And…have you visited papa and mama recently?" asked Koumori.

"Yes, and both of them are fine," answered Usagi. "But they are extremely worried about you. And they miss you terribly." Then a clear expression that one can only call homesickness flashed across Koumori's face.

"I really do like it here…April is awesome and the turtles, Master Splinter, and Casey are cool but…I miss Papa and Mama too. I…I want to go home," admitted Koumori, longing in his red eyes. Fully sympathizing with him, Usagi gave him a comforting smile.

"Don't worry, I will take you there soon," promised Usagi. _Which I can start doing now actually. Michelangelo-san is with his family again. I have fulfilled my promise. I…I don't need to stay any longer. _Then to Usagi's surprise, his heart then felt a pang of pain and sadness. Usagi let himself wear a wry smile as he looked down at the rooftop beneath his feet. _I am sure going to miss Michelangelo-san...and even…_

"That will definitely be good, but I sure hope that you don't plan to leave right now," Leonardo suddenly said, breaking Usagi out of his thoughts. The rabbit samurai looked up to see that everyone was looking at him, with a grateful and expecting faces. Usagi's eyes widened when he realized that Michelangelo, Leonardo, and April must have told the others how he had helped Michelangelo get back to this world. _Oh dear…here it comes…_

"Yeah, leaving before Master Splinter could thank ya would just be plain disrespectful and rude," added Raphael with a smirk.

"And I wouldn't mind looking at your wounds and making sure that they are doing reasonably well," said Donatello, motioning his hand towards the bloodstains on Usagi's clothes.

"And from what we heard from Mikey, you guys have had a _really _long day," commented Casey with a you-cannot-dispute-what-I'm-saying-isn't-true smile. "So you need a good long rest before you start traveling again. Heck, all of us need a good long rest after today."

"And besides…I still haven't treated you to pizza gyoza yet," said Michelangelo hopefully, though Usagi did see a trace of worry in his blue eyes. Even though they didn't say their gratitude outright, Usagi could read it clearly in the subtext. And that was enough for his face grow slightly hot and his heart feel warm and fuzzy.

Usagi was half-tempted to hide his face again but since they didn't actually praise him, he managed to control himself. It wasn't that Usagi hated gratitude or praise, in fact he liked it just as much as the next person. But whenever someone put him on a pedestal like this and either call his deeds out or expressed their gratitude, he always felt so embarrassed that he wanted to hide. After all, it wasn't like he helped Michelangelo because he wanted praise and glory like the Ultimate Ninja. He just wanted to help his friend out. _But it really does feel nice to be appreciated…and accepted._

"What do you think Koumori-san?" Usagi asked of the young bat on his shoulder. The bat responded immediately.

"I want to stay! Just for a little while! I do really want to see Mama and Papa again but I also want to see Master Splinter one more time and get to know Mikey better!" Usagi then smiled, having come to his decision.

"It would probably be wise to rest, it is pretty late out after all and our journey isn't that short," Usagi said. "And…I really am curious to know just what pizza gyoza is." As Michelangelo then cheered along with Koumori, Usagi couldn't stop smiling as his heart threatened to burst with happiness. _Michelangelo-san is with his family again and I do not have to say goodbye right now. And…even though I am not a part of their family, they have not forgotten me or pushed me aside. What more can I ask for?_

TMNT

Master Splinter sighed anxiously as he glanced at the clock for the millionth time. As he nervously tapped his fingers on his knees, he looked at their lair's entrance. The entrance that his sons, April, Casey, and Koumori had yet to walk through. Master Splinter bit his lip as he sat on the couch in the living room, too worried to even bother trying to mediate in the dojo.

_Where are they? They should have found Koumori and brought him back ages ago. Are they just having a really hard time finding a little boy or…did Koumori did captured? Since I doubt Koumori was running away and he couldn't have gotten that far…it probably the latter. Which means that they are trying to rescue him. _Master Splinter then sighed, his heart full of fear and worry. _My sons…my family…please come back home safe and sound. If even one of you didn't come back like Michelangelo…I won't be able to…_

"Master Splinter! Master Splinter!" Master Splinter picked his head up and saw a truly wonderful sight. The voice belonged to Koumori, and he was running towards him in his human form, a big wide grin on his face.

"Koumori!" exclaimed Sensei with relief as he quickly stood up and hurried towards Koumori. He held his arms out and Koumori leapt into them and hugged him tight. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm alright," stated Koumori happily. However, before the anxiety and fear could leave Master Splinter's heart, he noticed something. The rest of his family weren't entering the lair. Master Splinter's heart immediately skipped a beat.

"Where are the others?" asked the mutant rat as he put Koumori back on the ground, trying desperately not to let the panic he felt into his voice.

"Oh, they're right behind me," answered Koumori. Just as Master Splinter let out a sigh of great relief, Koumori continued.

"They just wanted me to go ahead to tell you the happy news so you can be prepared when he comes." Master Splinter raised an eyebrow.

"What happy news? And prepared for who?" Koumori just grinned wider than Master Splinter could ever conceived possible. _Who or what in the world…_Then the alien shape-shifter breathed in deeply before letting it out.

"MIKEY'S BACK!" For a moment, Master Splinter couldn't think, feel, or move. He could only stare at the joyful little boy.

"What?" Master Splinter finally asked softly as his heart began to hope that despite all odds, he did hear Koumori correctly. That despite all odds, the words the boy spoke were true. Then he heard the voice he had been desperately longing to hear ever since two weeks ago.

"MASTER SPLINTEERR!" he heard his youngest and dear son cry as well as the sound that only feet on concrete could make. With a gasp, Master Splinter looked up and saw Michelangelo jumping over the turnstiles, a bright light in his baby blue eyes and an ecstatic grin on his freckled face. The beautiful sight made Master Splinter tremble with burden-lifting relief as he picked himself up. _He's here…I did hear right…Michelangelo, my son…he is really back!_

"MICHELANGELO!" Master Splinter cried, his heart and soul overwhelming with joy and euphoria as he rushed towards his son. Then before he knew it, Michelangelo was in his arms and Master Splinter was hugging him like he had never hugged before. _I can't believe it...but it's true! My son is here and he really is alive!_

"My son…my son…" murmured Master Splinter as happy tears flowed down his brown furry face like a waterfall. At the sound of more footsteps, Master Splinter looked up to see the rest of his family, as well as a rabbit in samurai attire (who was acting quite shyly) arrive at the entrance. Before he could wonder who the rabbit was, his wonderful and special son spoke.

"I love you Father." Master Splinter looked back down at his son, who was hugging him tightly and was also softly crying tears of joy. His son who was very much alive. His child who had obviously found a way back to Earth and to his brothers. And back to his Father.

"And I love you too my son," stated Master Splinter, the agony he had felt for two weeks finally leaving for good. He then gave the top of Michelangelo's head a light but loving kiss. "I love you more than you could ever know."

**:) I love happy endings, don't you? Especially when things get tough because it just makes the ending so much sweeter and fulfilling. But don't worry, there is ONE more chapter after this. Kind of hard to believe huh? I sure do...In any case, please review and I will update sometime this week (like hopefully tomorrow or Wednesday. Don't hold me to that though. It's just a goal). Till then, I hope you have a good day/night as always!**


	30. epilogue

**Guest: :D Thank you so much!**

**Cartoonlover2016: Well, here it is! I actually made it on time! Yay! Thank you and I hope you love this chapter too!**

**I don't own TMNT. And only Koumori partly.**

After answering the call of nature, Mikey washed his hands as he smiled at his reflection in the mirror. _It has been a crazy two weeks…okay, I was pretty out of it for most of it, but still. But in any case, things are back to normal now. Mostly anyway. After all we have two new friends now._

When Master Splinter found out that Usagi was the reason Mikey was back home, the wise mutant rat immediately thanked him profusely and welcomed him to the lair with open arms. Usagi of course accepted, though only after he was done hiding behind his ears again. The suggestion of getting pizza gyoza _and _pizza to celebrate was brought up but then Koumori yawned, which made Mikey yawn and rub his eyes. So instead, it was decided to go to bed instead (despite Koumori's protesting that he wasn't asleep, only to conk out a moment later in April's arms).

April, Koumori, and Casey then left, promising that they would be back tomorrow (it was a Saturday) with both pizza and pizza gyoza. But before the rest of them could go to sleep, Donnie, with the great insistence of a mother hen, looked over both Usagi _and _Mikey. To Mikey's relief, Usagi's wounds were just fine with no sign of infection, despite overexerting himself. And to everyone's relief, Mikey's fever didn't come back though both Don and Sensei agreed that he probably shouldn't train for a few days just in case. Mikey didn't mind that much, he was just grateful and happy to be back with his family.

Finally, after they showed Usagi the spare bedroom, they all said goodnight and went to their separate bedrooms to sleep. At least, Mikey thought that was the plan anyway. But apparently not, because when the orange-masked turtle woke up the next morning, Donnie was sleeping on one side of him and Leo and Raph were sleeping on his other side, their arms laid over him and each other. Even though the result was that there was hardly any room on Mikey's bed (if at all), Michelangelo just smiled and snuggled back into his brothers' loving embrace and went back to sleep with a content smile.

There was no training for anyone that day, just resting and basking in each other's company. Then at around lunchtime, April and the others returned, bringing the promised food items back with them. Mikey and his family really celebrated then, with laughter, telling stories of their adventures, and stuffing their faces with pizza and pizza gyoza (Mikey never wanted to go so long without pizza ever again). When Usagi declared that the pizza gyoza was one of the most delicious things he had ever eaten, Mikey just beamed. His mission was a success.

But now, the time has come for Usagi and Koumori to head back to their world. In fact, they will leave as soon as Mikey got out of the bathroom. So not wasting another moment, Mikey raced out of the bathroom and into the living room. There, waiting for him, were his brothers, his Father, April, Casey, and Usagi, with Koumori in his bat form on his shoulder.

"About time," grumbled Raph, though there wasn't any impatience in his voice.

"I know, I'm sorry for the wait dudes, but I'm here now," replied Mikey happily. _I really am here now…and my family is happy again._

"In that case…I guess it's time to say goodbye," said Usagi with a smile, though there was a tiny bit of sadness in his eyes. And Mikey didn't blame him, he also felt a bit sad at the thought of saying goodbye to his friend. He even was going to miss Koumori, even though they only knew each other for about a day.

"But…But I don't want to!" Koumori suddenly cried as he flew off of Usagi's shoulder and towards April. When he reached her, he turned into a human in midair but luckily April managed to catch him without a problem. "Can you all, especially you April, just come with us! It will be great and you will love it there! I promise!"

"Oh Koumori…" said April softly as she hugged a tearful Koumori tightly. "That…that does sound nice, but I'm afraid we can't. This world is our home, and we belong here. Just like you belong with your Mama and Papa in your own world."

"But…will we see each other again?" asked Koumori, his lower lip quivering.

"Of course we will," Usagi assured him, gently yet firmly. _That's right…Master Splinter knows how to open a portal to the Battle Nexus dimension, and the Daimyo can then help us go to Usagi's world…we can see each other again! We will! _With that realization, Mikey's previous sadness disappeared in a blink of an eye.

"Yeah, it's not like we are not going to visit each other. And besides, we are going to participate in the Battle Nexus tournament. We can see each other then," added Leonardo. Mikey smiled when he remembered his brothers' and human friends' reactions when it was revealed that Master Splinter was friends with a Daimyo and fought in a multi-dimensional tournament. To say that they were surprised would be a serious understatement.

"Which I am totally going to win by the way," said Casey.

"No way Casey! I am!" declared Raph.

"Oh yeah, and what makes you so sure of that huh?" asked Casey with a smirk and a raised smile.

"Why…"

"Now now, that is enough," Master Splinter interrupted in a firm voice. "There are plenty of strong fighters that participate in the Battle Nexus tournament, so it is folly to declare yourselves the victors now."

"Yes Master Splinter," responded Casey and Raph, looking for the most part repentant. Mikey couldn't help but chuckle at his family's antics. _Oh how much I missed this…_

"Oh I can't wait to cheer on all of you from the sidelines with Papa and Mama!" exclaimed Koumori, all of his sadness completely gone, an excited gleam in his eyes.

"Well, for that to happen, we have to go to home Koumori-san," stated Usagi.

"Alright Usagi," Koumori said just a tiny bit grudgingly. He then squeezed April. "Thank you for taking care of me like I was your little brother even though we are not related. I love you in a family way and I am going to miss you."

"I'm…I'm…" stuttered April, obviously touched by Koumori's honest and adorable words. Then a single tear fell out of her right eye as she squeezed him back. "It has been an honor taking care of you like you were my little brother and I love you too in a family way. I will miss you too but don't worry, we will see each other soon."

"I know," replied Koumori with his bright smile.

"Ah…are we all done here?" asked Raph awkwardly after a moment of everyone just looking at the very heartwarming scene.

"Yeah, we are Raph," answered April as she sat Koumori down on the ground. Mikey, his brothers, Casey, and Master Splinter then took that as their cue to say their own goodbyes to the little boy.

"See ya later Koumori," said Casey as he high-fived Koumori.

"Yeah, and keep on being awesome dude," Mikey added as he also gave Koumori a high-seven.

"Goodbye Koumori, have a good time back home," said Leo kindly as he placed a hand on Koumori's shoulder.

"Yes, and make sure to tell your parents that you love them," advised Master Splinter as he patted Koumori on the back. "They are going to need it."

"Bye Koumori, and don't stop being curious. Curiosity leads to intelligence," said Donnie in his wise voice as he pointed his finger in the air.

"Yeah, or it could lead to trouble," scoffed Raph before ruffling Koumori's hair. "Take care of yourself, ya hear?"

"Of course Raph! And don't worry, I will tell my parents that I love them and I won't ever stop being curious. And I will have a good time and see ya Casey. And I will stay awesome as long as you stay awesome Mikey!" chimed Koumori.

"You got yourself a deal!" agreed Mikey as he gave Koumori a thumbs up.

"Hey what about me?" asked Usagi in a teasing tone. "Don't I get a farewell?" Mikey, as well as the rest of his family, turned around and gave Usagi a grin. _Don't worry dude, we can never forget you._

"Of course man, you saved Mikey!" exclaimed Casey as he wrapped his arms around Usagi's shoulders. "A proper farewell is the least of what you deserve!"

"Yeah…bye Usagi," said Raph nervously. "And…I guess I didn't say this before but…thank you Usagi. Really, Mikey can be an awful handful at times, but he is _our_ dear baby brother and nobody can replace him so…thank you." Mikey's eyes immediately started to water as Usagi started to blush again. _Raph…_

"He's right you know," said Donnie firmly. Then suddenly, Donnie gave Usagi a giant bone-crushing hug, which made Casey unwrap his arm from Usagi's shoulders. "When we thought he was dead, we honestly did try to move on but…it was just _so_ hard. It would have taken us a really long time to move on, if at all. But then we found out the truth and then he came back…all because of you. We can never thank you enough." Mikey's heart immediately felt warmer as he bit the inside of his lip so he wouldn't cry. _Donnie…_

"Well…I…" stammered Usagi, blushing even more as he patted Donnie's back.

"Don't feel so embarrassed Usagi, you deserve it," said Leo as Donnie finally let go of Usagi. "You are a great, trustworthy, and honorable samurai. Your world is lucky to have a Ronin such as you. And we are lucky that have a friend like you."

"Actually…I thought…I was the lucky one…" murmured Usagi as he scratched the back of his neck while looking at the floor. _Usagi…_ "Is it just me or is it getting hot in here?"

"I was asking myself the same question a minute ago," laughed April. "And I know I said this before, but thank you so much for bringing Mikey back to us. He's like a brother to me too." _April…gah, don't cry don't cry!_

"Hai, the same goes for me too Usagi," said Master Splinter as he placed a hand on Usagi's shoulder. "Except that he is my beloved son of course. All I ask is that you remember that you are always welcomed here."

"Of course Master Splinter," said Usagi, whose face seemed to be getting less red. "And don't worry, I won't forget that to tell the Daimyo that you sent your regards." He then turned to Mikey and smiled.

"It has been an honor helping Michelangelo-san." Then Mikey just couldn't keep it in anymore. He rushed at Usagi and gave him a big hug as a tear or two fell out of his eyes.

"Thank you for everything Usagi," Mikey said softly. "You are a part of my family now so…see you soon okay?" For a moment, the rabbit samurai didn't do or say anything. Then he returned Mikey's hug and the orange-masked turtle was 100% sure he felt a tear on his bald green head.

"Thank you for coming after me when I got kidnapped," said Usagi softly. "Thank you for encouraging and believing me during my fight with the Ultimate Ninja. Thank you for trusting me so completely. We will definitely see you soon…nakama."

Then Usagi and Mikey stopped hugging so that the rabbit could draw and open the portal to the Battle Nexus Dimension. When the portal was ready, everyone waved and said goodbye one last time, content smiles on their faces as Koumori returned to his bat form and got on Usagi's shoulder. Then Usagi and Koumori walked through the watery-blue magical door and out of sight. When the portal as a result closed up to be no more, Mikey suddenly felt an arm around his shoulders as well as a hand gently scratching his shell.

Mikey glanced around and saw that the arm belonged to his oldest brother Leo and the hand to his closest brother, Donnie. Mikey glanced around some more and saw that the rest of his family were close by, looking at the place where the two aliens disappeared with sincere smiles. Mikey looked back to that place, his heart and soul fully content. _I have made two new friends who I will see again soon. And I am surrounded by my family, who loves me very much. I am so happy that I was born a mutant ninja turtle._

TMNT

Raph looked at his sleeping brothers with a fond smile. When night came around, instead of going on patrol, they just stayed in and watched a movie (Raph honestly forgot what it was called, but it was black-and-white and it was about three guys from Italy that go to America who later try to sabotage an opera.) and ate popcorn.

While the movie was hilarious, it wasn't long before Mikey fell asleep, his head on Donnie's lap, his body on Leo's, and his legs on Raph's. Then Donnie himself went to the dream world with his head leaning Leo's shoulder. Leo a little while later fell asleep, one arm around Donnie's shell and his other arm around Raph's. Raph was leaning against Leo's plastron while he kept one hand on Mikey's calves so that they wouldn't fall during the night.

Like anyone, Raph will attest that the last two weeks were awfully hard. From Mikey 'dying' to fighting against a dangerously crazy villain, it had been a tough trial for one red-masked turtle. But like the rest of his family, Raph had pulled through. And even though they probably haven't seen the last of Bishop, it didn't matter to Raphael. They had gained some new friends that they could count on and most important of all, his baby brother was alive and back with them.

And as long as Raph had anything to say about it, that was where Mikey was going to stay, as well as the rest of his small but precious family. Content and love for his family filling his soul, Raph closed his eyes, finally willing for his sleepiness to take over him. Within moments, Raph was so blissfully gone that he didn't even notice April taking a picture of them snuggling with each other.

**:D :D Well...I DID IT! I can't believe it, I wrote this story! And I must say, I am happy with it. The farewell scene in this chapter might be a bit too long, but then I felt like it needed be there so, I don't know. In any case, thank you everyone who had been on this long but wonderful journey, with all of your support. Thank you. I hope you love this epilogue and one last time, please review so I know just how well (or possibly, badly) I wrote this last chapter and the story as well. With that said, have a great time reading other great fics!**

**P.S. The movie they watched is called "The Night of the Opera". It's a great movie!**


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